Adult Screening for Hepatitis c and Linkage to Treatment in Hospitals in Colombia

Overview

Introduction: Hepatitis C virus infection is a major cause of chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. The risk of developing cirrhosis for people with chronic infection with the virus ranges from 15% to 30% over a 20-year period. According to 2019 data from the World Health Organization there are 58 million people living with chronic hepatitis C infection. Three-quarters of those infected live in low- to middle-income countries, some of which lack budgets for screening, diagnosis and treatment campaigns. While good progress has been made in several countries, a significant gap in testing and treatment remains. Barriers to timely diagnosis include lack of awareness on the part of health professionals, availability and access to screening tests. Simplifying the cascade of care for this pathology would help ensure that more patients remain involved in the care pathway and ultimately achieve global goals. Objective: To estimate the prevalence of anti-HCV antibodies in patients with risk factors for hepatitis C virus captured by opportunity screening in the included hospital institutions. Methodology: Descriptive multicenter cross-sectional study. A total of 27160 participants among the seven institutions, 3880 per institution. Includes all persons over 18 years of age attended in the included health service provider institutions (IPS) who are users of hospitalization, emergency, outpatient and any other hospital care services. Application of a questionnaire to identify the inclusion criteria and data collection, signature of informed consent, sample collection by rapid test Abbott HCV rapid test - BIOLINE HCV and evaluation by tele-consultation by hepatologist principal investigator who will guide you to access the confirmatory test for HCV (viral load for Hepatitis C), the study will assume responsibility for its realization.

Research question ¿What is the prevalence of HCV in the population with risk factors for hepatitis C virus infection captured by screening with rapid tests in health care institutions in Colombia? Through this observational, multicenter, hospital population study, the prevalence will be determined by screening patients with risk factors for hepatitis C by rapid antibody test, to subsequently perform confirmation with viral load PCR in those seropositive. In addition, support will be provided to patients to facilitate their treatment adherence. The benefits would be related to raising awareness of the importance of the active search for these patients, reducing the health impact for the screened population, incorporating these strategies in the country's hospital institutions, and obtaining epidemiological information that helps to understand the magnitude of the disease and the opportunity for its elimination.