Back to Search
Start Over
The Prevalence of HCV Infection and Risk Factors in a Hospital- Based Population Screening, a First Step to the Micro-Elimination of HCV Infection in Medical Institutions from Romania - Results of the HepC ALERT Study.
- Source :
-
Journal of gastrointestinal and liver diseases : JGLD [J Gastrointestin Liver Dis] 2020 Dec 12; Vol. 29 (4), pp. 587-593. Date of Electronic Publication: 2020 Dec 12. - Publication Year :
- 2020
-
Abstract
- Background and Aims: Elimination of hepatitis C worldwide is more feasible if micro-elimination screening strategies are adopted. We aimed to screen hepatitis C virus (HCV) in specific high-risk populations in certain sub-regions of Romania and link them to antiviral treatment.<br />Methods: A multicenter prospective study was conducted among the hospitalized or ambulatory adult patients from March 2019 to March 2020 in more than 20 medical institutions from 4 Romanian cities (Bucharest, Iasi, Timisoara, Cluj-Napoca). A rapid diagnostic test for HCV diagnosis was performed to all admitted patients and the positive ones were sent to gastroenterology departments for confirming the active infection, staging and treatment prescription.<br />Results: In total, 25,141 subjects signed the informed consent and were consequently enrolled into the study. The prevalence of anti-HCV antibodies was 1.39% (95%CI: 1.25-1.54) and increased with the number of risk factors presented by one subject. There was a positive association between the presence of anti-HCV antibodies and female gender (p<0.001), rural area of residence (p<0.001), advanced age (p<0.001), as well as a negative association with the education level (p<0.001).<br />Conclusions: In a hospital-based screening micro-elimination program in Romania, HCV prevalence was lower than previously reported. This is a first step towards a cost-effective screening in a well-defined group of persons at risk and provides sufficient capacity to deliver access to HCV treatment and linkage to care in Romania.
- Subjects :
- Adult
Aged
Antiviral Agents therapeutic use
Biomarkers blood
Female
Hepatitis C drug therapy
Hepatitis C virology
Hepatitis C Antibodies blood
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Predictive Value of Tests
Prevalence
Prospective Studies
Risk Assessment
Risk Factors
Romania epidemiology
Diagnostic Screening Programs
Hepatitis C diagnosis
Hepatitis C epidemiology
Hospitals
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1842-1121
- Volume :
- 29
- Issue :
- 4
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Journal of gastrointestinal and liver diseases : JGLD
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 33331354
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.15403/jgld-3084