Hepatitis C virus core antigen as alternative diagnostic algorithm for active hepatitis C virus infection among haemodialysis population: Cost implications

Wong, Xue Zheng and Azzeri, Amirah and Gan, Chye Chung and Shabaruddin, Fatiha Hana and Dahlui, Maznah and Yahya, Rosnawati and Ganapathy, Shubash and Tan, Soek Siam and Mohamed, Rosmawati and Lim, Soo Kun (2021) Hepatitis C virus core antigen as alternative diagnostic algorithm for active hepatitis C virus infection among haemodialysis population: Cost implications. Nephrology, 26 (5). pp. 463-470. ISSN 1320-5358, DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/nep.13862.

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/nep.13862

Abstract

Aims: In Malaysia, majority anti-HCV positive haemodialysis patients do not undergo hepatitis C confirmation due to the high cost of HCV RNA. HCV Core Antigen might be a cost-effective diagnostic test to identify HD patients who have active HCV infection eligible for Direct Acting Anti-viral therapy. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the correlation between HCV Ag and HCV RNA and the cost implications of different diagnostic algorithms to diagnose active HCV infection using Anti-HCV, HCV Ag, and HCV RNA. Pre-dialysis blood was tested for both HCV Ag and HCV RNA. HCV Ag was tested with Abbott ARCHITECT HCV Ag test. Results: Two-hundred twenty-seven haemodialysis patients were recruited from 20 centres with mean age of 57.68 ± 12.48 years, and male constitutes 56.8% (129) of the study population. HCV Ag correlated well with HCV RNA (Spearman test coefficient 0.943, p <.001) with sensitivity of 93.9%, specificity 99.3%, and the accuracy was 97.36%. Cost analysis indicated that a sequential test involving Anti-HCV antibody as initial screening, followed by HCV Ag on Anti-HCV positive and HCV RNA on HCV Ag negative cases translated to a modest cost-saving algorithm compared to standard diagnostic algorithm. Conclusion: HCV Ag correlated well with HCV RNA and can potentially be fused in an alternative diagnostic algorithm to generate cost savings methods to diagnose active HCV infection among haemodialysis patients. This alternative algorithm is especially relevant in low to middle-income countries such as Malaysia to optimize the use of the healthcare resource and gains in clinical outcomes. © 2021 Asian Pacific Society of Nephrology

Item Type: Article
Funders: UNSPECIFIED
Uncontrolled Keywords: cost implication; diagnostic algorithm; haemodialysis; HCV core antigen; hepatitis C virus
Subjects: R Medicine
Divisions: Faculty of Medicine
Depositing User: Ms. Juhaida Abd Rahim
Date Deposited: 03 May 2021 06:57
Last Modified: 03 May 2021 06:57
URI: http://eprints.um.edu.my/id/eprint/25927

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