Decreases in Hepatitis C Testing and Treatment During the COVID-19 Pandemic

被引：64

作者：

Kaufman, Harvey W. ^{[1
]}

Bull-Otterson, Lara ^{[2
]}

Meyer, William A., III ^{[1
]}

Huang, Xiaohua ^{[1
]}

Doshani, Mona ^{[3
]}

Thompson, William W. ^{[3
]}

Osinubi, Ademola ^{[3
]}

Khan, Mohammed A. ^{[3
]}

Harris, Aaron M. ^{[3
]}

Gupta, Neil ^{[3
]}

Van Handel, Michelle ^{[3
]}

Wester, Carolyn ^{[3
]}

Mermin, Jonathan ^{[3
]}

Nelson, Noele P. ^{[3
]}

机构：

[1] Quest Diagnost, Secaucus, NJ USA

[2] US Ctr Dis Control & Prevent, Div Hlth Informat & Surveillance, Ctr Surveillance Epidemiol, Atlanta, GA USA

[3] US Ctr Dis Control & Prevent, Lab Serv, Atlanta, GA USA

来源：

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PREVENTIVE MEDICINE | 2021年 / 61卷 / 03期

关键词：

UNITED-STATES; VIRUS-INFECTION; CARE; HCV; LINKAGE; RECOMMENDATIONS; INTERVENTIONS; DISPARITIES; PEOPLE; ADULTS;

D O I：

10.1016/j.amepre.2021.03.011

中图分类号：

R1 [预防医学、卫生学];

学科分类号：

1004 ; 120402 ;

摘要：

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted healthcare services, reducing opportunities to conduct routine hepatitis C virus antibody screening, clinical care, and treatment. Therefore, people living with undiagnosed hepatitis C virus during the pandemic may later become identified at more advanced stages of the disease, leading to higher morbidity and mortality rates. Further, unidentified hepatitis C virus-infected individuals may continue to unknowingly transmit the virus to others. Methods: To assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, data were evaluated from a large national reference clinical laboratory and from national estimates of dispensed prescriptions for hepatitis C virus treatment. Investigators estimated the average number of hepatitis C virus antibody tests, hepatitis C virus antibody-positive test results, and hepatitis C virus RNA-positive test results by month in January-July for 2018 and 2019, compared with the same months in 2020. To assess the impact of hepatitis C virus treatment, dispensed hepatitis C virus direct-acting antiretroviral medications were examined for the same time periods. Statistical analyses of trends were performed using negative binomial models. Results: Compared with the 2018 and 2019 months, hepatitis C virus antibody testing volume decreased 59% during April 2020 and rebounded to a 6% reduction in July 2020. The number of hepatitis C virus RNA-positive results fell by 62% in March 2020 and remained 39% below the baseline by July 2020. For hepatitis C virus treatment, prescriptions decreased 43% in May, 37% in June, and 38% in July relative to the corresponding months in 2018 and 2019. Conclusions: During the COVID-19 pandemic, continued public health messaging, interventions and outreach programs to restore hepatitis C virus testing and treatment to prepandemic levels, and maintenance of public health efforts to eliminate hepatitis C infections remain important. (C) 2021 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc.

引用

页码：369 / 376

页数：8

共 37 条

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