RT Journal Article
T1 HepCare Europe-A service innovation project. HepCheck: Characteristics of the patient population with active infection as defined by HCV RNA.
A1 Avramovic, Gordana
A1 Oprea, Cristiana
A1 Surey, Julian
A1 Story, Alistair
A1 Macías, Juan
A1 Cullen, Walter
A1 Iglesias, Maria
A1 Mc Hugh, Tina
A1 Crowley, Des
A1 Naughton, Anna Marie
A1 Horan, Aidan
A1 Ianache, Irina
A1 Lazar, Stefan
A1 Popa, Ionut
A1 Menezes, Dee
A1 Lambert, John S
K1 Hepatitis C
K1 Homeless
K1 Integrated HCV care
K1 People who inject drugs (PWID)
K1 Prisoners
K1 Screening
K1 Vulnerable populations
AB Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a main cause of chronic liver disease worldwide and is consistently under-diagnosed. Community-based screening initiatives, such as HepCheck, have been identified as important components of HCV care. HepCheck focuses on screening and identifying HCV RNA-positive cases in high-risk populations and linking them to care as part of a larger European project to improve HCV care (HepCare). HCV testing with a self-administered questionnaire was offered to 2822 individuals. There were 2079 patients screened. Overall, 397 (19%) of the total screened cohort were identified as having active HCV infections as measured by HCV RNA PCR. The patients were mostly male (84%), white (88%), and had a history of injecting drug use (IDU) (86%), homelessness (58%), and tattooing (42%). There were 136 new cases (7% of the total sample and 34% of identified active infections). Romania had the highest proportion of newly identified cases with 87%, then Ireland with 60%, and Spain with 43%; the UK had the lowest proportion of new cases at 10%. For those lost to follow-up, a major strategy is re-engagement. For those newly diagnosed, the 'seek and treat' approach is a key strategy. Thus, different priorities are defined for different countries.
YR 2019
FD 2019-11-27
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10668/27115
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10668/27115
LA en
DS RISalud
RD Apr 4, 2025