Loss to follow-up in the hepatitis C care cascade: A substantial problem but opportunity for micro-elimination
van Dijk, Marleen; Drenth, Joost P.H.; Arends, Joop E.; Brakenhoff, Sylvia M.; Isfordink, Cas J.; de Knegt, Rob; van der Valk, Marc
(2020) Journal of Viral Hepatitis, volume 27, issue 12, pp. 1270 - 1283
(Article)
Abstract
Since the advent of direct-acting antivirals, elimination of hepatitis C viral (HCV) infections seems within reach. However, studies on the HCV cascade of care show suboptimal progression through each step for all patient groups. Loss to follow-up (LTFU) is a major issue and is a barrier to HCV elimination. This
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review summarizes the scale of the LTFU problem and proposes a micro-elimination approach. Retrieving LTFU patients and re-engaging them with care again has shown to be feasible in the Netherlands. Micro-elimination through retrieval can contribute to reaching the World Health Organization's viral hepatitis elimination targets by 2030.
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Keywords: cascade of care, hepatitis C, lost to follow-up, micro-elimination, Hepatology, Infectious Diseases, Virology
ISSN: 1352-0504
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
Note: Funding Information: The CELINE project is part of the LEGA-C? programme. LEGA-C is meant to suggest ?Local Elimination Programs leading to Global Action in HCV?, and Gilead is using the LEGA-C programme to help streamline and support multiple HCV elimination initiatives across the world, including the SCALE (SCreening, Access, and Linkage to CarE) programme. The HepNed study group consists of Joop E. Arends, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands; Sylvia M. Brakenhoff, Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Cas J. Isfordink, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands, and Amsterdam Infection & Immunity Institute Amsterdam University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Rob de Knegt, Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; and Marc van der Valk, Amsterdam Infection & Immunity Institute Amsterdam University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Publisher Copyright: © 2020 The Authors. Journal of Viral Hepatitis published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
(Peer reviewed)
