Clinical Research Directory

Evaluation of Free STI Testing Pilot Projects in Lucerne and Zurich, Switzerland

The main goal of the observational study is to evaluate participants' satisfaction with free HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing and counselling offered by the cities of Lucerne and Zurich, Switzerland to young people and people with low incomes. Counselling and testing can be accessed without participating in the study arm of the project.

Appalachian Partnership to Reduce Disparities (Aim 2)

By combining two strategies (i.e., peer navigation and mHealth) into a complete, culturally compatible, bilingual intervention to increase the use of needed HIV, STI, and HCV prevention and care services among racially/ethnically diverse GBMSM and transgender women in rural Appalachia. Study Investigators anticipate that participants in the intervention group, relative to counterparts in the delayed-intervention group, will demonstrate increased HIV, STI, and HCV testing.

Changes in Bile Acids and Microbiota in Patients With Hepatitis D Treated With Bulvertide

HDV is an RNA virus that infects only in the presence of HBV, affecting about 13% of HBsAg carriers. In Italy, prevalence ranges from 3.2% to 9.3%. It increases the risk of cirrhosis, fulminant hepatitis, and HCC, particularly in high-risk groups (HIV, HCV, drug users, dialysis patients). Until 2020, pegIFN was the only therapy; since 2022, bulevirtide (BLV) has been available, blocking viral entry into hepatocytes and reducing HDV RNA and liver stiffness, with efficacy in 45-48% of patients, though the optimal treatment duration remains uncertain. The gut microbiota and bile acids also play a role in fibrosis and cirrhosis progression: dysbiosis, typical in cirrhotic patients, alters bile acid metabolism and increases intrahepatic toxicity.

Prophylaxis With Direct-acting Antivirals for Kidney Transplantation From HCV-Infected Donors to Uninfected Recipients

This study is being done to find out the best time to start medication for Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) in HCV-negative recipients of HCV-positive (HCV D+/R-) kidney transplants. Participants will be randomized into one of two groups: Arm 1 - Prophylaxis: This group will start the HCV medication before transplant and will take a shorter course of HCV medication for 2 weeks. Arm 2 - Transmit and Treat: This group will start the HCV medication after transplant and will take the full course (12 weeks) of HCV medication.

Facilitated Telemedicine in the Catholic Health System

Hepatitis C virus is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally with the highest prevalence and incidence among people with opioid use disorder. We aim to establish facilitated telemedicine as a standard of care treatment approach at 3 opioid treatment programs operated by the Catholic Health System. This study is a chart review data analysis to evaluate outcomes of facilitated telemedicine integrated into opioid treatment programs and to evaluate the number of individuals who initiate and complete treatment for hepatitis C virus infection.

Clinical Performance Evaluation of MagIA IVD-MD Multiplex Testing (HIV/HBV/HCV/Syphilis)

Performance study to evaluate the clinical performance of the In-Vitro Diagnostics Medical Device MagIA H3S (a Multiplex Point-of-Care test for the combined detection of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Hepatitis B and C and Syphilis) from serum, plasma samples collected prospectively or retrospectively in Ivory Coast and Kenya.

HIV/STI/HCV Testing and Overdose Prevention Among Survivors of Sex Trafficking

This project will assess whether a digital survivor crowdsourced intervention can increase HIV/STI/HCV testing and overdose prevention kit utilization among survivors of sex trafficking living in New York City. Survivors of sex trafficking have among the highest rates of HIV/STIs/HCV and substance use disorder (SUD), yet they face substantial barriers to care, including lack of information about care and financial and logistical constraints. In addition, there is a lack of public health messaging tailored specifically for survivors of sex trafficking to meet their needs. Citizen science approaches, such as crowdsourcing (i.e., engaging groups of individuals to address public health challenges and share solutions), are scalable, cost-effective tools that can increase HIV/SUD prevention and treatment utilization. Crowdsourcing can be used to engage survivors in developing tailored messaging to promote HIV/STI/HCV testing, overdose prevention, and treatment utilization. Complementing crowdsourcing, specimen self-collection with remote HIV/STI/HCV testing and online delivery of overdose prevention kits to survivors may also increase use of needed healthcare services. Study aims are: 1) develop crowdsourced digital messages to promote HIV/STI/HCV testing uptake and utilization of overdose prevention services for substance use among sex trafficking survivors; 2) in a randomized controlled trial, to compare the survivor-crowdsourced HIV and substance use intervention to existing public health messaging among sex trafficking survivors (n=368) in New York City; and 3) assess the contribution of multi-level factors on reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance (RE-AIM) outcomes. This work will result in a digital crowdsourced intervention to increase HIV/STI/HCV testing uptake, overdose prevention kit utilization, and linkage to care among survivors of sex trafficking. This project will also result in a crowdsourcing and messaging toolkit that can be broadly distributed to public health and other agencies across the country for their use in designing messaging campaigns for survivors. Findings from this project will lay the groundwork for citizen science-developed HIV and SUD interventions for sex trafficking survivors across the US.

HIV/HBV/HCV Triple Screening in Primary Care

Design: This will be a within-subjects repeated-measures design, testing an electronic medical record pop-up alert linked to order panels for screening blood tests for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV). Study participants will be primary care providers. For each participating provider, their encounter will be randomized to either control (no alert; no changes to EMR interface) or an alert with triple-testing order panel intervention arm (alert linked to order panel with screening tests for all three bloodborne viruses (BBVs) selected by default; the alert will be triggered when a provider attempts to order a screening test for at least one BBV). The alert linked to triple testing orders will only be triggered if the provider orders a virus BBV screening test based on their normal practice and standard of care for their patient. Providers will see which orders are selected prior to signing (finalizing) them; therefore, this study will be unblinded. To mitigate the effect of unblinding, randomization will occur at the encounter level which will lead to providers experiencing both the control and intervention conditions randomly throughout the duration of the study. Outcomes/endpoints: The investigators will compare incidences of HIV, HBV, and HCV diagnoses between the two encounter conditions, estimate number of cases missed by not triple-testing, estimate laboratory costs per condition, and measure patient encounters per condition.

Integrated HIV Prevention and HCV Care for PWID

The objective of this study is to compare and evaluate two strategies of delivering PrEP and Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) treatment to people who inject drugs to determine the best method of providing care. Participants will be randomized to one of two treatment arms: on-site integrated care or off-site referral to specialized care.

Community Intervention to Eliminate HCV Among People Who Use Drugs.

The goal of this interventional study is twofold with the evaluation of the feasibility and potential usefulness of an implementation strategy, and the efficiency of a community-based model of mass screening and immediate treatment of hepatitis C among People Who Use Drugs (PWUD) in three major cities in mainland France (Paris, Lyon and Marseille) and in one overseas city (Fort-de-France). The investigators will also describe the psychological and infectious comorbidities of drug users, determine the stages of the HCV (Hepatitis C Virus), HBV (Hepatitis B Virus), HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) care cascade, and analyze the factors associated with HCV treatment failure. A qualitative study will investigate the acceptability of the RDS model. Participants will be screened in an out of bound research center and receive appropriate treatment for infectious, addictological and psychiatric troubles. They will receive coupons to give to their peers for them to participate in the study. Researchers will also compare the acceptability of referral to psychiatric care directly at the research site (intervention group) with that of referral directly to a city facility (control group).

Scaling Up Point-of-Care Hepatitis C Testing and Treatment in Canada

The SCALE-POCT study is a national initiative designed to provide robust evidence for scaling up point-of-care hepatitis C testing for key populations. The study seeks to map current hepatitis C clinical processes, identify barriers and facilitators to implementation, and co-design practical tools and strategies in partnership with stakeholders. A major obstacle to hepatitis C elimination and increasing treatment uptake is the current multi-step diagnostic process, which leads to loss to follow-up and treatment delays, particularly among high-risk groups such as people who inject drugs. Point of-care hepatitis C antibody tests (results: 5-20 mins) and RNA tests (results: 60 mins), could enable single-visit diagnosis, reducing loss to follow-up. However, integrating these tests into key settings presents challenges. The overarching goal of this study is to generate evidence to inform the scale-up point-of-care hepatitis C testing and treatment in key settings in Canada. This study is observational in nature and does not involve the direct implementation of point-of-care hepatitis C testing. Instead, it aims to understand the contextual, procedural, and operational factors that would support its successful adoption and sustainability. By examining existing care models and engaging with key stakeholders, the study seeks to build a foundation for future implementation efforts. Specific objectives include: 1. Map current hepatitis C care processes and explore how point-of-care testing could fit into these models; 2. Identify barriers and facilitators to implementing point-of-care hepatitis C testing across settings and provinces; 3. Co-design tools and strategies (such as training guides, standard procedures) to support point-of-care testing; 4. Assess feasibility, acceptability, and costs of the co-designed tools and strategies.

The Ganchero Intervention for Migrant People Who Inject Drugs From Puerto Rico in New York City

The goal of this pilot clinical trial is to learn if an intervention that trains Gancheros (people who provide injection services in exchange for drugs or money) to conduct risk-reduction outreach could help lower risk for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and overdose among migrant Puerto Rican people who inject drugs (PWID) in New York City. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Can the Ganchero intervention be carried out successfully and will Gancheros and their clients like it? * Could the Ganchero intervention help Puerto Rican PWID who are clients of Gancheros use sterile syringes and carry naloxone (a medication to reverse opioid overdoses) more often? Gancheros who participate in the trial will be asked to attend a 6-session training on HIV, HCV, and overdose prevention and then to share key prevention messages and supplies (e.g., naloxone, sterile syringes and other injection equipment) with their clients during 4 months of outreach. The intervention will be carried out with Gancheros and their clients in two Bronx neighborhoods, one after the other, so the investigators can see if clients in the neighborhood that received the intervention first have better outcomes than clients in the neighborhood that did not yet receive the intervention.

A Setting Focus Overdose Prevention Intervention

A pilot injection-setting targeted peer-driven intervention to reduce HIV and hepatitis C virus transmission and overdose risk behaviors among people who inject drugs (PWID).

Hepatitis C Treatment to Prevent HIV, Initiate Opioid Substitution Therapy, and Reduce Risky Behavior

This is an open label, non-randomized, observational pilot study to evaluate a model of care for treatment of hepatitis C in people with ongoing injection drug use. Participants will be treated with direct-acting antivirals (DAA) as per standard of care and will concomittantly be offered pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention and buprenorphine for treatment of opioid use disorder when clinically indicated.

Non-interventional Study to Assess the Number of People With Untreated/Unknown HBV + HDV and HCV in South-East Austria

The HEAL-S study is a non-interventional study with retrospective data analysis. It consists of two parts. First a retrospective analysis based on nucleic acid testing (NAT) results will be performed. Two cohorts (HCV) and (HBV) will be established. Patients falling into one (or both) of the two cohorts will be invited to a prospective linkage-to-care study. In this part, patients are invited to the clinic, where the possibility of hepatitis treatment will be discussed.

Tools to Identify People At Risk or Already Infected with HIV and HCV

Wedge-Shaped Clusterded Randomizad Trial to Evaluate Two Tools to identify People at Risk or already Infected with HIV and HCV

Innovate, Involve, Inspire

The study will test a Community-based Simplified HCV Testing and Treatment Algorithm (CBSA), implemented at community harm reduction fixed or mobile sites. All potential participants with positive anti-HCV test will undergo diagnostic procedures including HCV-RNA testing. Those eligible for CBSA will be prescribed a fixed dose combination tablet: sofosbuvir/daclatasvir. Sustained virologic response (SVR) will be assessed 12 weeks after treatment completion. All those who achieve SVR will be tested for HCV\_RNA at six and 12 months after SVR12.

Current Situation of Health Care in Women With HBV or HCV Infection

A multicenter, retrospective study conducted in male and female population infected with HBV or HCV in east China. HCV part, study will enroll 500 HCV antibody positive and HCV RNA positive patients during 2020.7-2023.12 and then observe the characteristics, duration from diagnosis to treatment, treatment rate and sustained virologic response (SVR12) among eligible female and male patients. HBV part, study will enroll 2000 HBsAg positive patients during 2016.7-2019.12 and then observe the clinical characteristics, natural history, duration from diagnosis to treatment, treatment rate and adherence among eligible female and male patients.

Use of Blood Biomarkers for the Early Diagnosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC)

The objective of this observational study is to evaluate the clinical utility of the combined assay of 3 biomarkers: α-FP, α-FP-L3 and DCP (simultaneously measured by µTASWakoTM i30 automated in vitro diagnostic system) in high-risk subjects to develop this neoplasm. In particular, it aims to: * Evaluate the clinical utility of the combined use of α-FP, α-FP-L3 and DCP in predicting the onset of HEPATOCARCINOMA (HCC); * Evaluate the performance of GALAD and GALADUS scores in the early diagnosis of HCC; * Evaluate the association between the levels of the three biomarkers (individually and in combination with each other) and the stage of HCC

Nivolumab/Ipilimumab and Chemotherapy Combination in Advanced NSCLC Patients With HIV, HBV, HCV and Long Covid Syndrome

Study type: Phase 2 - Interventional Trial Number of patients to be enrolled: 105 Participating countries: Italy Study drugs: nivolumab and ipilimumab Cohort A: HBV and HCV patients Cohort B: HIV patients Cohort C: Long COVID syndrome The stratification factors are HBV/HCV positive (cohort A), HIV positive (cohort B), patients with Long Covid syndrome (Cohort C), histology (squamous vs non-squamous histology), and gender (male vs female).