Effectiveness of a Screening Program for Hepatitis C.
Effectiveness of a Screening Program for Hepatitis C.
Cheung RC, Cunningham BA, Cooper AD.
Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, VA Palo Alto Health Care System
(154C), 3801 Miranda Ave, Palo Alto, California, 94304, USA.
We sought to determine the outcomes of a screening program for hepatitis C virus
(HCV) infection. Of 536 veterans initially screened between July 2000 and June
2001 for risk factors and then tested positive for antibody for HCV, only 260
(48.5%) kept their initial appointments for further evaluation; 51 were not
viremic and only 19 (9.1%) were treatment eligible. Of the 276 who did not keep
their initial appointments, 92 were subsequently evaluated over the next 2 years
and 23 (25%) were treatment eligible, along with another 15 from the first
group. Thus, with appropriate intervention and long-term follow-up, there were
57 treatment candidates. In conclusion, most veterans who tested positive either
failed to keep their appointment or were ineligible for treatment when first
evaluated. Over the following 2 years, some were lost to follow-up, many
continued to have contraindication(s) to antiviral therapy, and relatively few
were treatment candidates.
PMID: 16642419 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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