Hepatitis E laboratory tests
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Varun Kumar, M.B.B.S. [2] João André Alves Silva, M.D. [3]
Overview
Laboratory Findings
Every patient with acute or chronic hepatitis, which cannot be explained by other causes, should be tested for hepatitis E.
The following tests are done to identify and monitor liver damage from hepatitis B:
- Albumin level
- Liver function tests
- Prothrombin time
- Antibody test
Since cases of hepatitis E are not clinically distinguishable from other types of acute viral hepatitis, diagnosis is made by blood tests which detect elevated antibody levels of specific antibodies to hepatitis E in the body or by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Unfortunately, such tests are not widely available.
Hepatitis E should be suspected in outbreaks of waterborne hepatitis occurring in developing countries, especially if the disease is more severe in pregnant women, or if hepatitis A has been excluded. If laboratory tests are not available, epidemiologic evidence can help in establishing a diagnosis.