Clinical Preventive Services -
Screening - Infectious Diseases -

• The USPSTF recommends against routine screening for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in asymptomatic adults who are not at increased risk (general population) for infection. (D Recommendation).
   
• The USPSTF found insufficient evidence to recommend for or against routine screening for HCV infection in adults at high risk for infection. (I Recommendation).

To refer to the Clinical Interventions or view the complete entry for this topic, see the USPSTF site

ACPM Recommendations:

• ACPM recommends that individuals at high risk for chronic hepatitis C infection be screened for hepatitis C by an FDA-approved screening test, followed by a confirmatory test where the low signal cutoff (S/C) ratio indicates a less than 95 percent chance of infection. Risk factors include injection drug use (IDU), sexual exposure to individuals with IDU, and a history of receiving blood or blood products before 1992. The College does not find sufficient evidence to recommend for or against universal screening.

See the ACPM press release at http://www.acpm.org/pol_comp.htm.