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Does Metronidazole Cause False Positive Results For Hepatitis C Antibody Blood Test

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Posted on Fri, 13 Nov 2015
Twitter Sat, 14 Nov 2015 Answered on
Twitter Fri, 4 Dec 2015 Last reviewed on
Question : I was taking the oral 500 mg Metronidazole (flagyl) antibiotic pills twice a day for about 5 days when I took a Hepatitis C antibody blood test. The results came back negative, but could this medication have affected my results??

I also saw that Metronidazole could rarely cause a mild, reversible leukopenia. Could that have affected the results at all??

Can I rely on my negative results??
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Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (6 hours later)
Brief Answer:
no interference with the results

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

metronidazole treatment does not affect anti-HCV results. Leucopenia won't affect the results either. Of course you can rely on the results unless you have some very good reasons not to, for example a recent positive test!

Kind Regards!
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis

Internal Medicine Specialist

Practicing since :1999

Answered : 3815 Questions

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Does Metronidazole Cause False Positive Results For Hepatitis C Antibody Blood Test

Brief Answer: no interference with the results Detailed Answer: Hello, metronidazole treatment does not affect anti-HCV results. Leucopenia won't affect the results either. Of course you can rely on the results unless you have some very good reasons not to, for example a recent positive test! Kind Regards!