Work

A Point‐of‐Care Model for Hepatitis C Elimination in Remote Islands of Taiwan

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: ABSTRACT Timely and efficient diagnosis of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection remains the effective approach for the subsequent care cascade of HCV treatment. It is of importance in under‐resourced areas. The study aimed to assess the feasibility of a point‐of‐care (POC) model by a rapid diagnostic test and subsequent confirmational HCV RNA test in remote islands where traffic is an additional hurdle for health care. We conducted a mass POC screening program in 3 outlying islands, including Liuqiu (6.8 km2, 12,000 residents), Green (15.1 km2, 4280 residents), and Orchid (48.4 km2, 5230 residents) islands. We used immunochromatography‐based finger‐tip assays for HCV antibody detection. Serum HCV RNA was measured among patients seropositive for the rapid anti‐HCV test. There were 1055, 268, and 276 adult residents receiving rapid tests in Liuqiu, Green, and Orchid, respectively, yielding response rates of 47.0%, 41.1%, and 24.4%, respectively. The prevalence of anti‐HCV‐positive were 1.3% (n = 14), 1.1% (n = 3), and 0, respectively. Nine (52.9%) of the 17 anti‐HCV‐positive patients were HCV RNA‐negative. The HCV RNA‐positive patients then received anti‐viral treatment. The average turnaround time for overall POC HCV test results was 11.8 ± 3.2 min, and the sampling time was completed within 10–30 s. Meanwhile, the labor cost of HCV RNA screening was 156.3 USD, which was a 28.6% decrease compared to traditional methods. The study demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of the POC model for HCV elimination in remote islands with limited resources.

Source: The Kaohsiung Journal of Medical Sciences

DOI: 10.1002/kjm2.70060