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Garg J, Verma P, Singh M, Das A, Pathak A, Agarwal J. Hepatitis C virus core antigen: A diagnostic and treatment monitoring marker of hepatitis C virus in Indian population. Indian J Gastroenterol 2024:10.1007/s12664-024-01549-7. [PMID: 38619807 DOI: 10.1007/s12664-024-01549-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 04/16/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The diagnosis and treatment monitoring of hepatitis C is quite challenging. The screening test, i.e. antibody assay, is unable to detect acute cases, while the gold standard hepatitis C virus (HCV) reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR) assay is not feasible in resource-limited countries such as India due to high cost and infrastructure requirement. European Association for the Study of the Liver and World Health Organization have approved a new marker, i.e. HCV core antigen (HCVcAg) assay, as an alternative to molecular assay. In this study, we have evaluated HCVcAg assay for diagnosis and treatment monitoring follow-up in Indian population infected with hepatitis C. METHODS Blood specimen of 90 clinically suspected cases of acute hepatitis C were tested simultaneously for anti-HCV antibody assay via ELISA (enzyme-linked immunoassay), HCVcAg assay by chemiluminescence immune assay (CLIA) and HCV RTPCR VL (viral load) assay. Thirty-four HCV RTPCR positive patients were further enrolled in treatment monitoring group whose blood samples were tested at the beginning of treatment, two weeks, four weeks and 12 weeks via HCV core Ag assay and HCV RTPCR Viral Load assay. RESULTS Considering HCV RTPCR as gold standard, diagnostic performance of HCV core Ag assay and anti-HCV antibody assay was evaluated. The sensitivity and specificity of HCV core Ag assay were higher than that of anti-HCV Antibody assay, i.e. 88.3% and 100% vs. 23.3% and 83.3%, respectively. The overall diagnostic accuracy of HCV core Ag assay was 92.20%. Among treatment follow-up group, HCV core Ag levels correlated well with HCV viral load levels, at the beginning of treatment (baseline) till 12 weeks showing highly significant Spearman rank correlation coefficient of > 0.9 with HCV viral load levels. CONCLUSIONS HCV core Ag assay is a cost-effective, practically feasible substitute of HCV RTPCR viral load assay for diagnosis as well as long duration treatment monitoring of hepatitis C infection in resource-limited settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaya Garg
- Department of Microbiology, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, 226 010, India.
| | - Prashant Verma
- Department of Gastromedicine, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, 226 010, India
| | - Mridu Singh
- Department of Medicine, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, 226 010, India
| | - Anupam Das
- Department of Microbiology, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, 226 010, India
| | - Anurag Pathak
- Department of Community Medicine, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, 226 010, India
| | - Jyotsna Agarwal
- Department of Microbiology, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, 226 010, India
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Troyano-Hernáez P, Herrador P, Gea F, Romero-Hernández B, Reina G, Albillos A, Galán JC, Holguín Á. Impact of storage time in dried blood samples (DBS) and dried plasma samples (DPS) for point-of-care hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA quantification and HCV core antigen detection. Microbiol Spectr 2023; 11:e0174823. [PMID: 37655908 PMCID: PMC10581200 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.01748-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2023] [Accepted: 07/03/2023] [Indexed: 09/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The scale-up of hepatitis C virus (HCV) diagnosis and treatment requires affordable and simple tools to improve access to care, especially in low- and middle-income settings with limited infrastructure or high-risk populations. Dried blood and plasma samples (DBS and DPS) are useful alternative for hepatitis C detection in settings lacking adequate infrastructure. We evaluated the performance of DBS and DPS vs plasma in a point-of-care HCV RNA quantitative assay (Xpert HCV Viral Load-Cepheid), and compared HCV core antigen (HCVcAg) detection by the Architect HCV core antigen assay (Abbott) in DBS vs serum. The dried samples were stored at room temperature for different storage times to reproduce the time from sampling to testing in settings with centralized diagnosis or when testing mobile populations. HCV RNA quantification in DBS and DPS presented 100% sensitivity and specificity and a high correlation for up to 3 months of storage. HCV viremia showed a mean decrease of 0.5 log10 IU/mL (DBS) and 0.3 log10 IU/mL (DPS) for storage times up to 1 month. Architect HCVcAg detection presented high sensitivity/specificity (96%/100%) in DBS tested immediately after sampling, decreasing to 86% sensitivity after 7 days of storage. However, sensitivity increased when an optimized cut-off was applied for each storage time. We conclude that DBS and DPS are suitable samples for HCV RNA detection and quantification, being DPS more reliable for shorter storage times. DBS can be also used for HCVcAg qualitative detection and the sensitivity can be increased when adjusting the cut-off values. IMPORTANCE Hepatitis C infection remains a global burden despite the effectiveness of antivirals. In the WHO roadmap to accomplish HCV elimination by 2030, HCV diagnosis is one of the main targets. However, identifying patients in resource-limited settings and high-risk populations with limited access to healthcare remains a challenge and requires innovative approaches that allow decentralized testing. The significance of our research is in verifying the good performance of dried samples for HCV diagnosis using two different diagnostics assays and considering the effect of room temperature storage in this sample format. We confirmed dried samples are an interesting alternative for HCV screening and reflex testing in resource-limited settings or high-risk populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paloma Troyano-Hernáez
- Microbiology Department, HIV-1 Molecular Epidemiology Laboratory, Ramón y Cajal University Hospital-Ramón y Cajal Institute for Health Research (IRYCIS) and RITIP-CoRISpe, Madrid, Spain
| | - Pedro Herrador
- Microbiology Department, HIV-1 Molecular Epidemiology Laboratory, Ramón y Cajal University Hospital-Ramón y Cajal Institute for Health Research (IRYCIS) and RITIP-CoRISpe, Madrid, Spain
- Microbiology Department, Ramón y Cajal University Hospital-Ramón y Cajal Institute for Health Research (IRYCIS), Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Gea
- Gastroenterology Department, Ramón y Cajal University Hospital-Ramón y Cajal Institute for Health Research (IRYCIS), Madrid, Spain
| | - Beatriz Romero-Hernández
- Microbiology Department, Ramón y Cajal University Hospital-Ramón y Cajal Institute for Health Research (IRYCIS), Madrid, Spain
- Biomedical Research Center in Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
| | - Gabriel Reina
- Microbiology Department, Clínica Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- ISTUN, Institute of Tropical Health, Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- IdiSNA, Navarra Institute for Health Research, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Agustín Albillos
- Gastroenterology Department, Ramón y Cajal University Hospital-Ramón y Cajal Institute for Health Research (IRYCIS), Madrid, Spain
- Biomedical Research Center on Liver and Digestive Diseases (CIBEREHD), Madrid, Spain
- University of Alcalá, Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan Carlos Galán
- Microbiology Department, Ramón y Cajal University Hospital-Ramón y Cajal Institute for Health Research (IRYCIS), Madrid, Spain
- Biomedical Research Center in Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
| | - África Holguín
- Microbiology Department, HIV-1 Molecular Epidemiology Laboratory, Ramón y Cajal University Hospital-Ramón y Cajal Institute for Health Research (IRYCIS) and RITIP-CoRISpe, Madrid, Spain
- Microbiology Department, Ramón y Cajal University Hospital-Ramón y Cajal Institute for Health Research (IRYCIS), Madrid, Spain
- Biomedical Research Center in Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
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3
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Sepúlveda-Crespo D, Treviño-Nakoura A, Bellón JM, Fernández-Rodríguez A, Ryan P, Martínez I, Jiménez-Sousa MA, Resino S. Diagnostic performance of hepatitis C core antigen assay to identify active infections: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Rev Med Virol 2023; 33:e2436. [PMID: 36811353 DOI: 10.1002/rmv.2436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2023] [Revised: 02/10/2023] [Accepted: 02/12/2023] [Indexed: 02/24/2023]
Abstract
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) core antigen (HCVcAg) assay is an alternative for diagnosing HCV infection in a single step. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the Abbott ARCHITECT HCV Ag assay's diagnostic performance (validity and utility) for diagnosing active hepatitis C. PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library were searched until 10 January 2023. The protocol was registered at the prospective international register of systematic reviews (PROSPERO: CRD42022337191). Abbott ARCHITECT HCV Ag assay was the test for evaluation, and nucleic acid amplification tests with a cut-off ≤50 IU/mL were the gold standard. Statistical analysis was performed using STATA with the MIDAS module and random-effects models. The bivariate analysis was conducted on 46 studies (18,116 samples). The pooled sensitivity was 0.96 (95% CI = 0.94-0.97), specificity 0.99 (95% CI = 0.99-1.00), positive likelihood ratio 141.81 (95% CI = 72.39-277.79), and negative likelihood ratio 0.04 (95% CI = 0.03-0.06). The area under the summary receiver operating characteristic curve was 1.00 (95% CI = 0.34-1.00). For active hepatitis C prevalence values of 0.1%-15%, the probability that a positive test was a true positive was 12%-96%, respectively, indicating that a confirmatory test should be necessary, particularly with a prevalence ≤5%. However, the probability that a negative test was a false negative was close to zero, indicating the absence of HCV infection. The validity (accuracy) of the Abbott ARCHITECT HCV Ag assay for screening active HCV infection in serum/plasma samples was excellent. Although the HCVcAg assay showed limited diagnostic utility in low prevalence settings (≤1%), it might help diagnose hepatitis C in high prevalence scenarios (≥5%).
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Sepúlveda-Crespo
- Unidad de Infección Viral e Inmunidad, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Ana Treviño-Nakoura
- Servicio de Medicina Preventiva y Salud Pública, Hospital Universitario Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain.,Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Madrid, Spain
| | - José M Bellón
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón (IiSGM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Amanda Fernández-Rodríguez
- Unidad de Infección Viral e Inmunidad, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Pablo Ryan
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.,Servicio de Medicina Interna, Hospital Universitario Infanta Leonor, Madrid, Spain
| | - Isidoro Martínez
- Unidad de Infección Viral e Inmunidad, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - María A Jiménez-Sousa
- Unidad de Infección Viral e Inmunidad, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Salvador Resino
- Unidad de Infección Viral e Inmunidad, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
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Sun HY, Liu WD, Wang CW, Wei YJ, Lin KY, Huang YS, Su LH, Chen YT, Liu WC, Su YC, Chen YW, Chuang YC, Lu PL, Hung CC, Yu ML. Performance of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Core Antigen Assay in the Diagnosis of Recently Acquired HCV Infection among High-Risk Populations. Microbiol Spectr 2022; 10:e0034522. [PMID: 35579445 PMCID: PMC9241744 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.00345-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2022] [Accepted: 04/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
How the hepatitis C virus (HCV) core antigen (HCVcAg) assay performs in detecting recently acquired HCV infection among people living with HIV (PLWH) and HIV-negative men who have sex with men (MSM) is rarely assessed in the Asia-Pacific region. High-risk participants, including PLWH with sexually transmitted infections (STIs), HCV clearance by antivirals or spontaneously, or elevated aminotransferases, HIV-negative MSM with STIs or on HIV preexposure prophylaxis, and low-risk PLWH were enrolled. Blood samples were subjected to 3-stage pooled-plasma HCV RNA testing every 3 to 6 months until detection of HCV viremia or completion of the 1-year follow-up. The samples at enrollment and all of the archived samples preceding the detection of HCV RNA during follow-up were tested for HCVcAg. During June 2019 and February 2021, 1,639 blood samples from 744 high-risk and 727 low-risk PLWH and 86 HIV-negative participants were tested for both HCV RNA and HCVcAg. Of 62 samples positive for HCV RNA, 54 (87.1%) were positive for HCVcAg. Of 1,577 samples negative for HCV RNA, 1,568 (99.4%) were negative for HCVcAg. The mean HCV RNA load of the 8 individual samples positive for HCV RNA but negative for HCVcAg was 3.2 (range, 2.5 to 3.9) log10 IU/mL, and that of the remaining 54 samples with concordant results was 6.2 (range, 1.3 to 8.5) log10 IU/mL. The positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of HCVcAg were 85.7% and 99.5%, respectively. In at-risk populations, HCVcAg has a high specificity and NPV but lower sensitivity and PPV, particularly in individuals with low HCV RNA loads. IMPORTANCE The HCV core antigen assay has a high specificity of 99.4% and negative predictive value of 99.5% but a lower sensitivity of 87.1% and positive predictive value of 85.7% in the diagnosis of recently acquired HCV infection in high-risk populations. Our findings are informative for many countries confronted with limited resources to timely identify acute HCV infections and provide effective direct-acting antivirals to halt onward transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hsin-Yun Sun
- Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospitalgrid.412094.a and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wang-Da Liu
- Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospitalgrid.412094.a and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Medicine, National Taiwan University Cancer Center, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chih-Wen Wang
- Hepatobiliary Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Ju Wei
- Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital and College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Kuan-Yin Lin
- Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospitalgrid.412094.a and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Shan Huang
- Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospitalgrid.412094.a and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Li-Hsin Su
- Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospitalgrid.412094.a and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Ting Chen
- Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospitalgrid.412094.a and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wen-Chun Liu
- Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospitalgrid.412094.a and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Chin Su
- Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospitalgrid.412094.a and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yea-Wen Chen
- Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospitalgrid.412094.a and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Chung Chuang
- Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospitalgrid.412094.a and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Po-Liang Lu
- Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital and College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Chien-Ching Hung
- Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospitalgrid.412094.a and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
- China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Ming-Lung Yu
- Hepatobiliary Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
- School of Medicine and Hepatitis Research Center, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
- Institute of Biomedical Sciences, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
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Sadeghimehr M, Bertisch B, Negro F, Butsashvili M, Shilton S, Tskhomelidze I, Tsereteli M, Keiser O, Estill J. Hepatitis C core antigen test as an alternative for diagnosing HCV infection: mathematical model and cost-effectiveness analysis. PeerJ 2021; 9:e11895. [PMID: 34595063 PMCID: PMC8436958 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.11895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2020] [Accepted: 07/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The cost and complexity of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test are barriers to diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. We investigated the cost-effectiveness of testing strategies using antigen instead of PCR testing. METHODS We developed a mathematical model for HCV to estimate the number of diagnoses and cases of liver disease. We compared the following testing strategies: antibody test followed by PCR in case of positive antibody (baseline strategy); antibody test followed by HCV-antigen test (antibody-antigen); antigen test alone; PCR test alone. We conducted cost-effectiveness analyses considering either the costs of HCV testing of infected and uninfected individuals alone (A1), HCV testing and liver-related complications (A2), or all costs including HCV treatment (A3). The model was parameterized for the country of Georgia. We conducted several sensitivity analyses. RESULTS The baseline scenario could detect 89% of infected individuals. Antibody-antigen detected 86% and antigen alone 88% of infected individuals. PCR testing alone detected 91% of the infected individuals: the remaining 9% either died or spontaneously recovered before testing. In analysis A1, the baseline strategy was not essentially more expensive than antibody-antigen. In analysis A2, strategies using PCR became cheaper than antigen-based strategies. In analysis A3, antibody-antigen was again the cheapest strategy, followed by the baseline strategy, and PCR testing alone. CONCLUSIONS Antigen testing, either following a positive antibody test or alone, performed almost as well as the current practice of HCV testing. The cost-effectiveness of these strategies depends on the inclusion of treatment costs.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Barbara Bertisch
- Institute of Global Health, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Checkin Helvetiaplatz, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Francesco Negro
- Divisions of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and of Clinical Pathology, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Irina Tskhomelidze
- TEPHINET for Georgia Hepatitis C Elimination Program, I. Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Tbilisi, Georgia
| | - Maia Tsereteli
- Department of HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, STI and TB, National Center for Disease Control and Public Health, Tbilisi, Georgia
| | - Olivia Keiser
- Institute of Global Health, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Janne Estill
- Institute of Global Health, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Institute of Mathematical Statistics and Actuarial Science, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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Mathur P, Kottilil S. Hepatitis C Core Antigen Testing: Still an Effective Diagnostic Method for Global Elimination of Hepatitis C. Clin Infect Dis 2020; 70:674-675. [PMID: 30943285 DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciz273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2019] [Accepted: 03/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Poonam Mathur
- Division of Clinical Care and Research, Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore
| | - Shyam Kottilil
- Division of Clinical Care and Research, Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore
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Tran TH, Nguyen BT, Nguyen TA, Pham TTP, Nguyen TTT, Mai HTB, Pham HB, Nguyen TM, Phan HTT, Do NT, Ait-Ahmed M, Taieb F, Madec Y. Dried blood spots perform well to identify patients with active HCV infection in Vietnam. J Viral Hepat 2020; 27:514-519. [PMID: 31981287 DOI: 10.1111/jvh.13263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2019] [Revised: 12/20/2019] [Accepted: 01/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Recently, treatment advances in direct-acting antivirals have radically changed the management of HCV patients. However, in resource-limited countries, identification of patients with active HCV infection is still challenging in remote settings due to the limited access to laboratories able to measure HCV viral load. This study evaluated whether dried blood spots (DBS) transferred to a central laboratory could overcome this challenge. A total of 315 HCV-infected patients, naïve to anti-HCV treatment, provided each three type of samples: plasma, DBS with calibrated quantities of venous blood and DBS with uncalibrated quantities of capillary blood. Qualitative comparison was conducted in terms of detection of HCV viral load on DBS as opposed to plasma to estimate sensitivity and specificity. Quantitative comparisons were conducted by means of correlation estimation. Of the 250 patients with detected plasma HCV viral load, 245 also had detectable DBS HCV viral load (capillary or venous) leading to a sensitivity of 98.0% (95% confidence interval (CI): 95.4%-99.3%); importantly, all measurements with a plasma HCV viral load >118 IU/mL were also detected in DBS. When HCV was not detected in plasma, it was also not detected in DBS resulting in 100% specificity (95% CI: 94.5%-100%). Quantitative HCV viral load results were very similar when utilizing plasma or DBS sample types as illustrated by correlations >0.99. In conclusion, DBS sample types, with either uncalibrated capillary blood or calibrated venous blood, performed well to distinguish patients with active HCV infection, and who therefore need treatment, from other patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tram Hong Tran
- National Reference Laboratory of HIV Molecular Biology, National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Hanoi, Vietnam
| | - Binh Thanh Nguyen
- National Reference Laboratory of HIV Molecular Biology, National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Hanoi, Vietnam
| | - Tuan Anh Nguyen
- National Reference Laboratory of HIV Molecular Biology, National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Hanoi, Vietnam
| | - Tram Thi Phuong Pham
- National Reference Laboratory of HIV Molecular Biology, National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Hanoi, Vietnam
| | | | | | | | | | - Huong Thi Thu Phan
- Vietnam Administration of HIV/AIDS Control, Ministry of Health, Hanoi, Vietnam
| | - Nhan Thi Do
- Vietnam Administration of HIV/AIDS Control, Ministry of Health, Hanoi, Vietnam
| | - Mohand Ait-Ahmed
- Center for Translational Research, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
| | - Fabien Taieb
- Center for Translational Research, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.,Emerging Diseases Epidemiology Unit, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
| | - Yoann Madec
- Emerging Diseases Epidemiology Unit, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
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8
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Saludes V, Antuori A, Folch C, González N, Ibáñez N, Majó X, Colom J, Matas L, Casabona J, Martró E. Utility of a one-step screening and diagnosis strategy for viremic HCV infection among people who inject drugs in Catalonia. THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DRUG POLICY 2019; 74:236-245. [PMID: 31706159 DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2019.10.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2019] [Revised: 10/21/2019] [Accepted: 10/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND In Catalonia (Spain), people who inject drugs (PWID) face numerous barriers to access to mainstream healthcare services for hepatitis C confirmatory diagnosis and treatment, so simplified testing strategies for viremic infection are urgently needed. Among PWID attending harm-reduction services in Catalonia, we aimed (i) to assess the utility of an in-house HCV-RNA detection assay on dried blood spots (DBS) as a one-step screening and confirmatory diagnosis strategy for hepatitis C, (ii) to estimate the prevalence of viremic HCV infection, and (iii) to identify factors associated with unawareness of viremic infection. METHODS A cross-sectional study of current PWID (N = 410) was performed in four harm-reduction services. All participants underwent HCV antibody point-of-care testing and parallel DBS collection for centralized RNA testing. An epidemiological questionnaire was administered. Paired EDTA-plasma samples were additionally collected for HCV viral load testing in 300 participants. RESULTS HCV-RNA testing from DBS was feasible and showed 97.2% sensitivity and 100% specificity for viral loads >3000 IU/mL in real-life conditions. No significant differences in the performance when detecting viremic infections were observed between this one-step testing strategy vs. the conventional two-step algorithm involving venepuncture. Overall HCV seroprevalence was 79.8%, and prevalence of viremic infection was 58.5%. Importantly, 35.8% of viremic HCV participants were unaware of their status, and no specific socio-demographic or bio-behavioral factors independently associated with unawareness of viremic infection were identified. Among participants reporting a past or current HCV infection, 29.0% stated having received HCV antiviral treatment. CONCLUSION The high viremic HCV infection burden among PWID attending HRS, estimated for the first time in Catalonia, together with the low levels of awareness of viremic status and access to treatment, suggest that scaling up this one-step screening and diagnosis strategy to the network of harm-reduction services would help to achieve HCV elimination targets set by the World Health Organization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verónica Saludes
- Microbiology Department, Laboratori Clínic Metropolitana Nord, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Crta. del Canyet s/n, Badalona, 08916 Barcelona, Spain; Genetics and Microbiology Department, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Badalona, Spain; Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), Badalona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Adrián Antuori
- Microbiology Department, Laboratori Clínic Metropolitana Nord, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Crta. del Canyet s/n, Badalona, 08916 Barcelona, Spain; Genetics and Microbiology Department, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Badalona, Spain; Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), Badalona, Spain
| | - Cinta Folch
- Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), Badalona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Centre for Epidemiological Studies on Sexually Transmitted Infections and HIV/AIDS of Catalonia (CEEISCAT), Public Health Agency of Catalonia (ASPCAT), Badalona, Spain
| | - Noemí González
- El Local, Fundació IPSS, Sant Adrià del Besòs, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Núria Ibáñez
- Program on Substance Abuse, ASPCAT, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Xavier Majó
- Program on Substance Abuse, ASPCAT, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Joan Colom
- Program for the Prevention, Control and Care of HIV, Sexually Transmitted Infections and Viral Hepatitis, ASPCAT, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Lurdes Matas
- Microbiology Department, Laboratori Clínic Metropolitana Nord, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Crta. del Canyet s/n, Badalona, 08916 Barcelona, Spain; Genetics and Microbiology Department, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Badalona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Jordi Casabona
- Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), Badalona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Centre for Epidemiological Studies on Sexually Transmitted Infections and HIV/AIDS of Catalonia (CEEISCAT), Public Health Agency of Catalonia (ASPCAT), Badalona, Spain
| | - Elisa Martró
- Microbiology Department, Laboratori Clínic Metropolitana Nord, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Crta. del Canyet s/n, Badalona, 08916 Barcelona, Spain; Genetics and Microbiology Department, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Badalona, Spain; Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), Badalona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
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9
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Biondi MJ, van Tilborg M, Smookler D, Heymann G, Aquino A, Perusini S, Mandel E, Kozak RA, Cherepanov V, Kowgier M, Hansen B, Goneau LW, Janssen HLA, Mazzulli T, Cloherty G, de Knegt RJ, Feld JJ. Hepatitis C Core-Antigen Testing from Dried Blood Spots. Viruses 2019; 11:v11090830. [PMID: 31489933 PMCID: PMC6784259 DOI: 10.3390/v11090830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2019] [Revised: 08/31/2019] [Accepted: 09/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In order to expand hepatitis C virus (HCV) screening, a change in the diagnostic paradigm is warranted to improve accessibility and decrease costs, such as utilizing dried blood spot (DBS) collection. In our study, blood from 68 patients with chronic HCV infection was spotted onto DBS cards and stored at the following temperatures for one week: −80 °C, 4 °C, 21 °C, 37 °C, and alternating 37 °C and 4 °C; to assess whether temperature change during transportation would affect sensitivity. Sample was eluted from the DBS cards and tested for HCV antibodies (HCV-Ab) and HCV core antigen (core-Ag). HCV-Abs were detected from 68/68 DBS samples at −80 °C, 4 °C, 21 °C, and 67/68 at 37 °C and alternating 37 °C and 4 °C. Sensitivity of core-Ag was as follows: 94% (−80 °C), 94% (4 °C), 91% (21 °C), 93% (37 °C), and 93% (37 °C/4 °C). Not only did temperature not greatly affect sensitivity, but sensitivities are higher than previously reported, and support the use of this assay as an alternative to HCV RNA. We then completed a head-to-head comparison (n = 49) of venous versus capillary samples, and one versus two DBS. No difference in core-Ag sensitivity was observed by sample type, but there was an improvement when using two spots. We conclude that HCV-Abs and core-Ag testing from DBS cards has high diagnostic accuracy and could be considered as an alternative to HCV RNA in certain settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mia J Biondi
- Toronto Centre for Liver Disease, Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 2C4, Canada.
- Viral Hepatitis Care Network (VIRCAN) Study Group, Toronto Centre for Liver Disease, Toronto, ON M5G 2C4 Canada.
- Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing, Western University, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada.
| | - Marjolein van Tilborg
- Toronto Centre for Liver Disease, Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 2C4, Canada.
- Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam 3015 GD, The Netherlands.
| | - David Smookler
- Toronto Centre for Liver Disease, Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 2C4, Canada.
- Viral Hepatitis Care Network (VIRCAN) Study Group, Toronto Centre for Liver Disease, Toronto, ON M5G 2C4 Canada.
| | - Gregory Heymann
- Toronto Centre for Liver Disease, Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 2C4, Canada.
| | | | - Stephen Perusini
- Public Health Ontario Laboratories, Toronto, ON M5G 1M1, Canada.
| | - Erin Mandel
- Toronto Centre for Liver Disease, Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 2C4, Canada.
- Viral Hepatitis Care Network (VIRCAN) Study Group, Toronto Centre for Liver Disease, Toronto, ON M5G 2C4 Canada.
| | - Robert A Kozak
- Department of Microbiology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences, Toronto, ON M4N 3M5, Canada.
| | - Vera Cherepanov
- Toronto Centre for Liver Disease, Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 2C4, Canada.
| | - Matthew Kowgier
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5T 3M7, Canada.
| | - Bettina Hansen
- Toronto Centre for Liver Disease, Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 2C4, Canada.
- Viral Hepatitis Care Network (VIRCAN) Study Group, Toronto Centre for Liver Disease, Toronto, ON M5G 2C4 Canada.
| | - Lee W Goneau
- Public Health Ontario Laboratories, Toronto, ON M5G 1M1, Canada.
| | - Harry L A Janssen
- Toronto Centre for Liver Disease, Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 2C4, Canada
- Viral Hepatitis Care Network (VIRCAN) Study Group, Toronto Centre for Liver Disease, Toronto, ON M5G 2C4 Canada
| | - Tony Mazzulli
- Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, ON M5G 1X5, Canada.
- Public Health Ontario Laboratories, Toronto, ON M5G 1M1, Canada.
| | | | - Robert J de Knegt
- Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam 3015 GD, The Netherlands.
| | - Jordan J Feld
- Toronto Centre for Liver Disease, Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 2C4, Canada.
- Viral Hepatitis Care Network (VIRCAN) Study Group, Toronto Centre for Liver Disease, Toronto, ON M5G 2C4 Canada.
- Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada.
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