Clinical Research Directory

Implementation of a Re-engagement Program for Hepatitis C Patients Lost to Follow-up in Argentina.

Sponsor: Hospital El Cruce

Summary

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. This infection continues to represent a major global public health concern. This is why the introduction of potent antivirals for the treatment of HCV has been one of the major breakthroughs of the current medical era. From a public health perspective, HCV prevalence will be eliminated if the available treatment also targets those most likely to transmit the virus. Despite this scientific advance, a systematic review from the U.S. described that of the 43% of patients aware of their HCV diagnosis, only 16% started treatment. Clearly, the long-known barriers to accessing this treatment must be broken down in order to administer these effective antivirals. The World Health Organization (WHO) has set the ambitious goal of eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030. This goal is really difficult to achieve, especially in low and middle-income countries. Particularly in Argentina, there is a need to improve diagnosis, access to care, and treatment of viral hepatitis. The prospect of viral hepatitis elimination in our country is daunting due to the complexity of the health system and the cost of implementing different strategies. The most pragmatic approach would be to break down national elimination targets into smaller targets for individual populations, for which treatment and prevention interventions can be delivered more quickly and efficiently. This concept is known as micro-elimination. Focusing on micro-elimination of viral hepatitis means working to achieve the WHO target in specific subpopulations. Subpopulations known to have a higher prevalence of HCV infection include prisoners, people who inject drugs, and patients requiring hemodialysis, among others. Currently, patient unawareness of HCV infection represents one of the major barriers to treatment. In many cases, the diagnosis of HCV was established many years ago and patients do not seek treatment probably because they do not recognize the urgency of treating this asymptomatic infection. It is our goal, then, to identify the group of individuals who have been diagnosed with HCV infection but are not currently undergoing regular visits with health care professionals. This strategy is now called re-linking to the medical care of patients with chronic HCV.

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