IS ONLY REQUESTING AN ANTI-HCV TEST SUFFICIENT FOR HEPATITIS C SCREENING?/ HEPATIT C TARAMASI ICIN SADECE ANTI-HCV TESTI ISTEMEK YETERLI MIDIR?

• Published in: İstanbul Tıp Fakültesi dergisi = Journal of the Istanbul Faculty of Medicine Vol. 87; no. 3; p. 215
• Main Authors: Deniz, Rabia, Karsli, Seda, Ekinci, Omer Burak, Kalantarova, Ilkane, Atasoy, Alp, Onel, Mustafa, Agacfidan, Ali, Akyuz, Filiz, Demir, Kadir, Besisik, Fatih, Kaymakoglu, Sabahattin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Istanbul University Press 01.09.2024
• Subjects: Analysis; Care and treatment; Diagnosis; Evaluation; Health aspects; Hepatitis C; Hepatitis C virus; Infection; Medical records; Medical research; Medical tests; Medicine, Experimental; Mortality; Patient education; RNA; Virus diseases; Turkey
• ISSN: 1305-6433
• DOI: 10.26650/IUITFD.1401786

Objective: Unless treated, a hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is associated with high morbidity and mortality. The study investigates anti-HCV screening efficacy and treatment access rates for patients. Material and Method: This cross-sectional study screened all anti-HCV tests requested between January 2014-June 2017 from hospital records. Patient interviews were conducted by telephone-based interview. Result: The overall number of anti-HCV tests requested was 77,783, 1,373 of which were positive. Among these, the study interviewed 488 patients (266 females, 222 males; mean age=52.81 [+ or -] 16.5 years) and analyzed their tests. Further investigation with HCV-RNA had not been done in 69 (14.1%) anti-HCV positive patients. HCV-RNA was positive in 309 patients, 268 of whom were treated (86%), while 41 were not (14%). The main reasons for remaining untreated are: unknown (21%), no patient follow up (28%), or physician didn't indicate (19%). Conclusion: In order to successfully eliminate HCV, the anti-HCV test alone is not enough. Informing patients about the results of the anti-HCV test and, if positive, referring them for the HCV-RNA test are important. When considering the high amount of untreated patients, linkage to care should be encouraged in HCV-RNA positive patients unless an absolute contraindication is present. Keywords: Hepatitis C virus infection, anti-HCV antibody, HCVR-NA, screening Amac: Hepatit C Virus (HCV) enfeksiyonu, tedavi edilmedigi surece yuksek morbidite ve mortalite ile iliskilidir. Bu calismada antiHCV tarama etkinligi ve tedaviye erisim oranlari arastirilmistir. Gerec ve Yontem: Bu kesitsel calismada Ocak 2014 ile Haziran 2017 tarihleri arasinda istenen tum anti-HCV testleri hastane kayitlarindan tarandi. Hasta gorusmeleri telefon ortaminda gerceklestirildi. Bulgular: Istenilen toplam anti-HCV testi sayisi 77,783 olup, bunlarin 1,373'u pozitif cikmistir. Bunlardan 266'si kadin, 222'si erkek; yas ortalamasi 52,81 [+ or -] 16,5 yil olan 488 hastayla gorusme yapilmistir. Anti-HCV pozitif hastalarin 69'una (%14,1) HCV-RNA ile ileri arastirma yapilmadigi saptandi. Uc yuz dokuz hastada HCV-RNA pozitifti ve 268'i tedavi almisken (%86), 41'i (%14) tedavi edilmemisti. Tedavisiz kalmanin temel nedenleri ise bilinmeyen (%21), takip edilmeyen hasta (%28) ve hekimin endikasyon gostermemesi (%19) olarak belirlendi. Sonuc: HCV'nin basarili bir sekilde eradike edilmesi icin antiHCV testi tek basina yeterli degildir. Hastalarin anti-HCV testi sonuclari hakkinda bilgilendirilmesi; pozitif ise HCV-RNA testine basvurulmasi onemlidir. Tedavi edilmeyen hasta sayisinin yuksek oldugu goz onune alindiginda, mutlak bir kontrendikasyon olmadigi surece HCV-RNA pozitif hastalarda tedaviye yonlendirilme tesvik edilmelidir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Hepatit C enfeksiyonu, anti-HCV antikoru, HCV RNA, tarama