ArticleLiver international : official journal of the International Association for the Study of the Liver2022
Feasibility and effectiveness of HCV viraemia testing at harm reduction sites in Georgia: A prospective three-arm study.
Article in Liver international : official journal of the International Association for the Study of the Liver, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- Acceptability and Effectiveness of Point-of-Care HCV Testing in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review.Liver international : official journal of the International Association for the Study of the Liver · 2026Pooled it
- Impact of hepatitis C virus point-of-care RNA viral load testing compared with laboratory-based testing on uptake of RNA testing and treatment, and turnaround times: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The lancet. Gastroenterology & hepatology · 2023Pooled it
- Identifying Varying Influences on Eliminating Hepatitis C Across Medical Specialties.Journal of viral hepatitis · 2025Article
- Molecular Point-of-Care Testing for Hepatitis C: Available Technologies, Pipeline, and Promising Future Directions.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2024Review
- Opportunities for Enhanced Prevention and Control of Hepatitis C Through Improved Screening and Testing Efforts.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Toward reaching hepatitis B goals: hepatitis B epidemiology and the impact of two decades of vaccination, Georgia, 2021.Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin · 2023Article
- Hepatitis C care cascade among patients with and without tuberculosis: Nationwide observational cohort study in the country of Georgia, 2015-2020.PLoS medicine · 2023Observational
- Mixed-methods evaluation of point-of-care hepatitis C virus RNA testing in a Scottish prison.BMJ open · 2023Article
- Cost-effectiveness of Hepatitis C virus self-testing in four settings.PLOS global public health · 2023Article
- Rapid Treatment Initiation for Hepatitis C Virus Infection: Potential Benefits, Current Limitations, and Real-World Examples.Gastroenterology & hepatology · 2022Article
- Feasibility and effectiveness of HCV viraemia testing at harm reduction sites in Georgia: A prospective three-arm study.Liver international : official journal of the International Association for the Study of the Liver · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
16 authors at 6 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimsIn 2015, Georgia began a hepatitis C virus (HCV) elimination programme. Although screening programmes have been decentralized for high-risk groups, viraemic testing remains a bottleneck for people who inject drugs. Here, we describe two models of viraemic testing that aimed to address this gap.
methodsWe assigned eight harm reduction sites (HRS) to one of three arms (2,1:1): Xpert HCV viral load testing on-site, blood draw on-site with centralized HCV core antigen testing (HCVcAg), or standard-of-care (SOC) referral with viremia testing performed at treatment centres.
results1671 HCV-seropositive participants were enrolled (Xpert, 37.1%; HCVcAg, 29.1%; referral, 33.8%). Participants were predominantly male (95.4%), mean age (IQR) 43 (37, 50) years and 1290 (77.2%) were currently injecting drugs. Significantly higher proportions of participants in the Xpert (100%) and HCVcAg (99.8%) arms received viraemia testing compared with the referral arm (91.3%) (Xpert vs referral, p < 0.0001; HCVcAg vs referral, p < 0.0001). Among viraemic participants, treatment uptake was similar (Xpert, 84.0%; HCVcAg, 79.5%; referral, 88.4%). The time between screening and sample collection for viraemia testing was significantly longer in the referral arm compared with both Xpert and HCVcAg arms (median 1 day compared with 0 days respectively), and the overall time between screening to treatment initiation was longer for the referral arm (median 67 days) compared with both Xpert and HCVcAg arms (median 57 and 50 days respectively).
conclusionsPoint-of-care viraemia testing and blood drawn on-site for HCVcAg testing yielded more HCV-seropositive patients receiving viraemic testing within a shorter timeframe compared with referrals.
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Registered trials
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