STABILITY OF HEPATITIS-C VIRUS-RNA DURING SPECIMEN HANDLING AND STORAGE PRIOR TO NASBA AMPLIFICATION

The influence of different anticoagulants and pre-amplification storag e conditions on the stability of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-RNA, as detec ted by the quantitative HCV NASBA assay (NASBA-QT), was studied. The H CV-RNA load remained stable for at least 15 months when serum or plasm a samples (EDTA and heparin) were directly frozen at - 70 degrees C in lysis buffer. At 4 degrees C, the HCV-RNA load in serum or plasma sto red with lysis buffer did not decline for at least 14 days. At 30 degr ees C; however, the load declined significantly after 7 days. When clo tted, whole blood was stored at 4 degrees C, the HCV-RNA load was stab le for 72 h. However, when EDTA-anticoagulated whole blood was stored at 4 degrees C, the HCV-RNA load declined significantly after 48 h. In paired plasma and serum samples at baseline the HCV-RNA levels were s imilar. Heparin did not influence the efficiency of the HCV NASBA-QT a ssay. Clotted blood as well as EDTA or heparin anticoagulated blood ca n be used for quantifying HCV-RNA using the NASBA-QT assay. Blood samp les should be stored at 4 degrees C after collection and serum or plas ma separated within 24 h. Preferably, after separation, samples should be frozen in lysis buffer at - 70 degrees C until NASBA-QT analysis. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.