Patient education: Viral hepatitis panel (The Basics)

What is a hepatitis panel? — A hepatitis panel is a type of blood test. It is done to check for current or past hepatitis. The word "panel" means that multiple tests are done on the same blood sample.

Certain viruses cause an infection that harms the liver. There are different types of viral hepatitis. The most common are hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C. These are all caused by different viruses and can be spread in different ways.

A hepatitis panel might check for:

●Hepatitis antigens – "Antigens" are substances in the virus that cause the immune system to try to fight it. The immune system is the body's infection-fighting system.

●Hepatitis antibodies – "Antibodies" are proteins in the blood. The immune system makes antibodies to fight viruses and other germs.

In general, if you have antigens in your blood, it usually means that you have an infection. If you have antibodies, it can mean that you have a current infection, you had an infection in the past, or you have been vaccinated against that infection. Vaccines work by causing your body to make antibodies, like it would if you had an infection.

Why might I need a viral hepatitis panel? — Your doctor might want you to get a hepatitis panel:

●If you have symptoms of viral hepatitis

●If you were exposed to someone with hepatitis or are at risk of being exposed

●To find out if you have had certain types of hepatitis in the past

●To decide if you should get a vaccine to protect against hepatitis A or B

You might also get other tests along with a hepatitis panel. For example, you might get tests to check how well your liver is working.

How do I prepare for a viral hepatitis panel? — For this test, you need to get a "blood draw." Your doctor or nurse will tell you where to go for this.

It might help to wear a short-sleeve shirt to your blood draw appointment. This makes it easier for the person drawing your blood to get to your arm.

What happens during a blood draw? — For the blood draw, a needle is used to take a small amount of blood from your arm (figure 1). Collecting the blood only takes a few minutes. The blood is then tested in a lab.

Tell the person who takes your blood:

●If you take "blood thinner" medicines or if you have a bleeding problem – They will make sure that your bleeding is under control before you leave.

●If you have a latex allergy – Some of the supplies used for blood draws might contain latex.

●If you have a preferred arm to use

Most of the time, getting blood taken does not cause problems. You might have a little soreness or bruising where the needle went in. Rarely, people get lightheaded.

What do my results mean? — Your doctor or nurse will tell you when to expect your results, and will contact you with the results. Or if you use an online "patient portal," you might get an alert there when your results are ready.

You will get a result for each test included in the panel. An individual result can be:

●Negative – This means that you probably do not have hepatitis caused by that specific virus.

●Positive – This means that you might have viral hepatitis, or you might have had it in the past. Some positive results mean that you are immune because you have had a hepatitis vaccine.

To really understand what your test results mean, your doctor will need to review all of the results. They can help you understand what they mean. They will also talk to you about what to do next. You might need more tests.

If you do have hepatitis, your doctor will work with you to come up with a plan for treatment.

More on this topic

Patient education: Hepatitis A (The Basics)
Patient education: Hepatitis B (The Basics)
Patient education: Hepatitis C (The Basics)

Patient education: Hepatitis A (Beyond the Basics)
Patient education: Hepatitis B (Beyond the Basics)
Patient education: Hepatitis C (Beyond the Basics)