Open AccessScreening for hepatitis C in average and high‐risk populations of Qatar using rapid point‐of‐care testing
Author(s) -
Sharma Manik,
Al Kaabi Saad,
John Anil K,
Al Dweik Nazeeh,
Ullah Wani Hameed,
Babu Thandassary Ragesh,
Derbala Moutaz F,
Al Ejji Khalid,
Sultan Khaleel,
Pasic Fuad,
Al Mohannadi Munnera,
Yacoub Rafae,
Butt Mohd Tariq,
Singh Rajvir
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
ueg journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.667
H-Index - 35
eISSN - 2050-6414
pISSN - 2050-6406
DOI - 10.1177/2050640615580725
Subject(s) - medicine , ribavirin , hepatitis c , pegylated interferon , gastroenterology , liver disease , liver biopsy , hepatitis c virus , hepatitis , immunology , biopsy , virus
Background Screening for hepatitis C has been found to be beneficial in high‐risk individuals and ‘baby boomers’. Objective Our aim was to screen for hepatitis C in average and high‐risk individuals and compare the disease characteristics and response to treatment among the screened group (SG) and non‐screened group (NSG). Method Community‐based screening for hepatitis C was done in the average and high‐risk populations of Qatar. Screening was done using rapid point‐of‐care testing. All patients with stage 1 fibrosis on liver biopsy were treated with pegylated interferon and ribavirin. Results In total, 13,704 people were screened and 272 (2%, 95% CI (1.8–2.2%) had positive antibodies to hepatitis C. During the same period, 237 non‐screened patients (NSG) with hepatitis C were referred for treatment. Alanine and aspartate aminotransferases (ALT, AST) and overall fibrosis were significantly lower in the SG as compared with the NSG ( p = 0.04, 0.04 and 0.01, respectively). The response to treatment was similar in the SG as compared with the NSG (sustained viral response 61.7 % versus 69.1%, p = 0.55). Average‐risk patients had significantly lower ALT levels ( p = 0.04) but had similar response to treatment as the high‐risk individuals (sustained viral response 63.2 % versus 61%, p = 0.87). Conclusion Screening detects hepatitis C with lesser fibrosis but does not result in better response to pegylated interferon and ribavirin as compared with non‐screened patients.