Hepatitis C screening

Learn how research continues to change our ability to detect and treat pediatric patients with hepatitis C in today’s episode. This episode was written by Dr. Lidia Park and Dr. Tammy Yau with content support from Dr. Daniel Dodson. Drs. Lidia and Tammy take full responsibility for any errors or misinformation.  Key Points: Perinatal hepatitis C exposure is the most common cause of pediatric hepatitis C infection NAT testing for hepatitis C RNA can be done as early as 2 months of life to detect hepatitis C infection in pediatric patients rather than waiting until 18 months of life when hepatitis C antibody testing can be done Hepatitis C positive moms can still breastfeed but should halt breastfeeding temporarily if breasts are cracked or bleeding Sources: CDC: CDC Recommendations for Hepatitis C Testing Among Perinatally Exposed Infants and Children — United States, 2023 | MMWR AAP Red Book 2024: Hepatitis C