Open AccessMissed opportunities for hepatitis C treatment at a tertiary care hospital in South Australia
Author(s) -
Sreecanth Sibhi Raja,
Suzanne Edwards,
Jeffrey Stewart,
Dep Huynh
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
world journal of hepatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.913
H-Index - 55
ISSN - 1948-5182
DOI - 10.4254/wjh.v14.i8.1576
Subject(s) - medicine , hepatitis c , cohort , public health , retrospective cohort study , pediatrics , hepatitis c virus , cohort study , intensive care medicine , immunology , nursing , virus
Hepatitis C is a global epidemic and an estimated 230 000 Australians were living with chronic hepatitis C in 2016. Through effective public health policy and state commitment, Australia has utilised the advent of direct acting antiviral (DAA) therapy to transform the therapeutic landscape for hepatitis C virus (HCV). However, treatment rates are falling and novel public health approaches are required to maintain momentum for HCV elimination. Contemporary discourse in cascades of care have focused on expanding testing capabilities but less attention has been given to linking previously diagnosed patients back to care. Our simple and focused study rests on the premise that hospital admissions are an excellent opportunity to identify and refer previously diagnosed patients for HCV treatment.