Evidence-Based Medicine
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2018. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Hepatol. Oct 27, 2018; 10(10): 743-751
Published online Oct 27, 2018. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v10.i10.743
Comparison of hepatitis C virus testing recommendations in high-income countries
Risha Irvin, Kathleen Ward, Tracy Agee, Noele P Nelson, Claudia Vellozzi, David L Thomas, Alexander J Millman
Risha Irvin, Kathleen Ward, Tracy Agee, David L Thomas, Division of Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, United States
Noele P Nelson, Claudia Vellozzi, Alexander J Millman, Division of Viral Hepatitis, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30329, United States
Author contributions: Irvin R, Nelson NP, Vellozzi C, Thomas DL and Millman AJ developed the concept and search strategy for the manuscript; Irvin R, Ward K and Agee T performed all relevant data searches; Irvin R, Ward K, Agee T, Nelson NP, Vellozzi C, Thomas DL and Millman AJ reviewed all data obtained from searches and participated in manuscript preparation.
Supported by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, contract No. 200-2013-M-57552; additional support was provided to the primary author by the Johns Hopkins University Center for AIDS Research, No. 1P30AI094189 and NIDA, No. R37DA013806 (to Thomas DL).
Conflict-of-interest statement: Dr. Irvin has nothing to disclose. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Risha Irvin, MD, Assistant Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 725 N Wolfe Street, Room 218A,Baltimore, MD 21205, United States. rirvin1@jhmi.edu
Telephone: +1-443-2874843
Received: May 5, 2018
Peer-review started: May 5, 2018
First decision: June 5, 2018
Revised: June 27, 2018
Accepted: July 9, 2018
Article in press: July 10, 2018
Published online: October 27, 2018
Processing time: 175 Days and 13.8 Hours
Abstract
AIM

To investigate hepatitis C virus (HCV) testing recommendations from the United States and other high-income countries.

METHODS

A comprehensive search for current HCV testing recommendations from the top quartile of United Nations Human Development Index (HDI) countries (very high HDI) was performed using Google and reviewed from May 1 - October 30, 2014 and re-reviewed April 1 - October 2, 2017.

RESULTS

Of the 51 countries identified, 16 had HCV testing recommendations from a government body or recommendations issued collaboratively between a government and a medical organization. Of these 16 countries, 15 had HCV testing recommendations that were primarily risk-based and highlight behaviors, exposures, and conditions that are associated with HCV transmission in that region. In addition to risk-based testing, the HCV Guidance Panel (United States) incorporates recommendations for a one-time test for individuals born during 1945-1965 (the birth cohort) without prior ascertainment of risk into their guidance. In addition to the United States, six other countries either have an age-based testing recommendation or recommend one-time testing for all adults independent of risk factors typical of the region.

CONCLUSION

This review affirmed the similarities of the HCV Guidance Panel’s guidance with those of recommendations from very high HDI countries.

Keywords: Hepatitis C; Testing; Recommendations; Mass screening; Guidelines

Core tip: This report investigates hepatitis C virus (HCV) testing recommendations from the United States and other high-income countries to assess any risk-based or universal screening categories that should be considered for updates to HCV testing guidance from the HCV Guidance Panel (United States). This review affirmed the similarities of the HCV Panel guidance with those of very high-income countries. No significant gaps in the guidance were identified. HCV testing recommendations from very high-income countries will be continually reviewed and as new risk categories or universal screening recommendations are identified, they will be considered for incorporation into the HCV Panel guidance when peer-reviewed evidence is available to support the incorporation of the HCV testing practices in the United States.