Clinical trials

Hepatitis C virus infection is a major cause of chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. The risk of developing cirrhosis for people with chronic infection with the virus ranges from 15% to 30% over 20 years. Despite undeniable advances in the treatment of hepatitis C infection and the WHO strategy to eliminate hepatitis C by 2030, this infection continues to be a major public health problem globally and many HCV-positive individuals are unaware of their HIV status. People who inject drugs (PWID) are at increased risk for HCV. Several studies have reported high HCV prevalence rates, especially among PWID. PWID are usually exposed to a higher risk of various infectious diseases, mainly due to their drug consumption behaviors and habits, in addition to the risks and harms associated with the respective routes of self-administration. Worldwide, there are around 11 million PWIDs and there are approximately 2.3 million coinfections between HIV and HCV worldwide, of which more than half (1.3 million) occur in PWID. The coexistence of these two health conditions leads to accelerate the progression of liver disease. The global prevalence of HCV in 2019 among PWID was 50.2%, which is equivalent to 5.6 million people who inject drugs and live with hepatitis C. PWID had been considered a difficult group to reach, manage, and treat because HCV treatment management in these individuals is challenging and they have a higher risk of reinfection and some past HCV treatment guidelines excluded PWIDs from consideration, citing concerns about adherence, increased susceptibility to side effects, and reinfection. However, there is now compelling evidence that HCV treatment is safe and effective among PWID. In Colombia, the prevalence of hepatitis C among PWID has been measured locally in some cities. In Bogotá, it went from 1.7% in 2002 to 6.7% in 2014. For 2021, the prevalence of hepatitis C was measured in Bogotá, Medellín, Santiago de Cali, the metropolitan area of Pereira, Dos Quebradas, Medellín, Cucuta, and Armenia. The results of prevalence of antibodies against hepatitis C were as follows: Cali with 80.2%, is the city with the highest reactivity, followed by Pereira and Dos Quebradas with 71.4%, Armenia with 69.6%, and Cucuta with 62.8%. We do not have recent data about the impact of intervention to reduce HVC transmission in those groups.

Introduction: Hepatitis C virus infection is a major cause of chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. The risk of developing cirrhosis for people with chronic infection with the virus ranges from 15% to 30% over a 20-year period. According to 2019 data from the World Health Organization there are 58 million people living with chronic hepatitis C infection. Three-quarters of those infected live in low- to middle-income countries, some of which lack budgets for screening, diagnosis and treatment campaigns. While good progress has been made in several countries, a significant gap in testing and treatment remains. Barriers to timely diagnosis include lack of awareness on the part of health professionals, availability and access to screening tests. Simplifying the cascade of care for this pathology would help ensure that more patients remain involved in the care pathway and ultimately achieve global goals. Objective: To estimate the prevalence of anti-HCV antibodies in patients with risk factors for hepatitis C virus captured by opportunity screening in the included hospital institutions. Methodology: Descriptive multicenter cross-sectional study. A total of 27160 participants among the seven institutions, 3880 per institution. Includes all persons over 18 years of age attended in the included health service provider institutions (IPS) who are users of hospitalization, emergency, outpatient and any other hospital care services. Application of a questionnaire to identify the inclusion criteria and data collection, signature of informed consent, sample collection by rapid test Abbott HCV rapid test - BIOLINE HCV and evaluation by tele-consultation by hepatologist principal investigator who will guide you to access the confirmatory test for HCV (viral load for Hepatitis C), the study will assume responsibility for its realization.