• Eur. J. Intern. Med. · Jul 2022

    Hepatitis C Elimination in the Netherlands (CELINE): How nationwide retrieval of lost to follow-up hepatitis C patients contributes to micro-elimination.

    • Cas J Isfordink, Marleen van Dijk, Sylvia M Brakenhoff, Patricia A M Kracht, Joop E Arends, Robert J de Knegt, Marc van der Valk, DrenthJoost P HJPHDepartment of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, the Netherlands. Electronic address: Joost.Drenth@radboudumc.nl., and CELINE Study Group.
    • Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands; Division of Infectious Diseases, Amsterdam Infection & Immunity Institute Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
    • Eur. J. Intern. Med. 2022 Jul 1; 101: 93-97.

    Background & AimsThe number of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients who have been lost to follow-up (LTFU) is high and threatens HCV elimination. Micro-elimination focusing on the LTFU population is a promising strategy for low-endemic countries like the Netherlands (HCV prevalence 0.16%). We therefore initiated a nationwide retrieval project in the Netherlands targeting LTFU HCV patients.MethodsLTFU HCV-infected patients were identified using laboratory and patient records. Subsequently, the Municipal Personal Records database was queried to identify individuals eligible for retrieval, defined as being alive and with a known address in the Netherlands. These individuals were invited for re-evaluation. The primary endpoint was the number of patients successfully re-linked to care.ResultsRetrieval was implemented in 45 sites in the Netherlands. Of 20,183 ever-diagnosed patients, 13,198 (65%) were known to be cured or still in care and 1,537 (8%) were LTFU and eligible for retrieval. Contact was established with 888/1,537 (58%) invited individuals; 369 (24%) had received prior successful treatment elsewhere, 131 (9%) refused re-evaluation and 251 (16%) were referred for re-evaluation. Finally, 219 (14%) were re-evaluated, of whom 172 (79%) approved additional data collection. HCV-RNA was positive in 143/172 (83%), of whom 38/143 (27%) had advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis and 123/143 (86%) commenced antiviral treatment.ConclusionOur nationwide micro-elimination strategy accurately mapped the ever-diagnosed HCV population in the Netherlands and indicates that 27% of LTFU HCV-infected patients re-linked to care have advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis. This emphasizes the potential value of systematic retrieval for HCV elimination.Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier B.V.

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