ArticleBMJ open2019
Assessing testing rates for viral hepatitis B and C by general practitioners in Flanders, Belgium: a registry-based study.
Article in BMJ open, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Epidemiology and management of hepatitis B and C in primary care in the Netherlands: data from the Rijnmond Primary Care database.Family practice · 2023Article
- A randomized controlled trial enhancing viral hepatitis testing in primary care via digital crowdsourced intervention.NPJ digital medicine · 2022Article
- Cascade of care among hepatitis B patients in Maastricht, the Netherlands, 1996 to 2018.Journal of virus eradication · 2022Article
- Ten years countdown to hepatitis C elimination in Belgium: a mathematical modeling approach.BMC infectious diseases · 2022Article
- Accelerating the elimination of hepatitis C in Kuwait: An expert opinion.World journal of gastroenterology · 2020Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesChronic infections with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) have a major impact on mortality worldwide. Although effective treatments are available for both HBV and HCV infection, <50% of the patients are even diagnosed in Belgium. This study assessed the real-life testing-and diagnosis rate by general practitioners (GPs) in Flanders, Belgium.
settingWe assessed the testing rate for HBV and HCV in 48 primary care practices with electronic medical records linked into one central registry in Flanders, Belgium.
participantsThe registry contains data of 440 140 patients over 20 years, which corresponds to 2.2% of the total Flemish population yearly. The primary care practices are distributed across Flanders and the patient population is representative for the distribution of age, gender and socioeconomic status at the community level.
resultsOf 440 140 patients included in the registry, 7892 (1.8%) patients were screened for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and 7206 (1.6%) for hepatitis C antibody (HCV Ab) of whom 369 (4.7%) and 163 (2.3%) tested positive, respectively. Of 14 059 patients with chronic liver enzyme elevation, 1112 (7.9%) and 1395 (9.9%) were tested for HBsAg and HCV Ab, respectively. There was no improvement in testing rates over time.
conclusionsThis study demonstrates that real-life testing uptake for viral hepatitis B and C is suboptimal in the general practices in Flanders, even in patients with chronically elevated liver enzymes. As GPs play a crucial role in prevention, diagnosis and linkage to care, efforts and strategies to increase the testing uptake for HBV and HCV are urgently needed.
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