Objectives: Cryoglobulins (CGs) are serum proteins that undergo a reverse cold-induced precipitation . The CGs are a well-known cause of analytical interferences in several laboratory tests, leading to spurious results. With this in view, we present a case of a patient initially misdiagnosed due to CGs interference in Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) serology.

Case Presentation: We report a case of a woman of advanced age affected by acute renal failure that required urgent haemodialysis. In the absence of infections and other causes of CGs production, a diagnosis of acute renal failure secondary to essential cryoglobulinemia was established. However, an unexpected positive HCV viral load was encountered. At this point, a false-seronegative HCV infection conditioned to CGs interference was suspected, confirmed by repeating serology in pre-warmed serum. Finally, the patient was correctly diagnosed with HCV-secondary cryoglobulinemia.

Conclusions: As shown in the case, the presence of CGs in blood may represent a challenge for the correct interpretation of several laboratory tests. The identification of CGs and the pre-treatment of serum are decisive to avoid spurious results and reach a genuine diagnosis.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10197300PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/almed-2020-0086DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

false-seronegative hcv
8
hcv infection
8
laboratory tests
8
cgs interference
8
acute renal
8
renal failure
8
cgs
7
infection motivated
4
motivated interference
4
interference cryoglobulins
4

Similar Publications

Objectives: Cryoglobulins (CGs) are serum proteins that undergo a reverse cold-induced precipitation . The CGs are a well-known cause of analytical interferences in several laboratory tests, leading to spurious results. With this in view, we present a case of a patient initially misdiagnosed due to CGs interference in Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) serology.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Detection of serum antibodies to hepatitis C virus in 'false-seronegative' blood donors in Oman.

Med Princ Pract

July 2006

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Al-Khod, Oman.

Objective: To detect hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibodies in seronegative donors by disruption of the immune complexes (ICs).

Subjects And Methods: HCV antibody detection was carried out on 600 seronegative donors following an IC dissociation assay. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was then performed on the positive results.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!