Hepatitis B Surface Antigen: Decreased Need for Confirmation of Reactive Results

Increasingly large numbers of specimens are referred to laboratories with orders to perform an assay for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). In our laboratories, reagents from Abbott, either RIA or enzyme immunoassay (EIA), are used for this purpose. The product insert for the RIA assay states: “It is desirable to perform a specificity analysis before informing a donor/patient that he is an HBsAg carrier with an FDA-licensed neutralization confirmatory test (e.g., the Abbott AUSRIA II-125 confirmatory neutralization test). A repeatably reactive specimen, confirmed by neutralization with human Anti-HBs must be considered positive for HBsAg”. Similar advice is given in the EIA insert. Given this advice, it has been …