Hepatitis Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Hepatitis, including details on hepatitis a, b, c, causes, symptoms.

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. rcheung@stanford.edu

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.

Published 6 July 2006 in Dig Dis Sci, 51(5): 976-81.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2006-2008 Hepatitis Research Today. All Rights Reserved.