ReviewDiagnostics (Basel, Switzerland)2022
Diagnostic Accuracy of Point-of-Care HCV Viral Load Assays for HCV Diagnosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Review in Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
26 citing papers in PubMed, 37 citations in OpenAlex.
- Performance Evaluation of the Xpert® HCV Test on Fingerstick Blood in a Prospective Observational Clinical Study at CLIA-Waived Sites in the United States.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2026Observational
- Development of a Rapid Automated Point-of-Care Test for Hepatitis C Viral RNA on the DASH Rapid Polymerase Chain Reaction System.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Efficiency of decentralized screening for hepatitis C in different healthcare settings: retrospective study over 6 years in southeastern Spain.Translational gastroenterology and hepatology · 2026Article
- Article
- Sensitivity and specificity of dried blood spot samples for hepatitis C virus RNA testing.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Rapid simultaneous self-testing of HIV and HCV viral loads with integrated RNA extraction and multiplex RT-PCR in under 1 hour.Biosensors & bioelectronics · 2025Article
- Peer-Delivered Outreach With Rapid Treatment Pathways for Hepatitis C Testing and Treatment Among Unhoused People.Journal of viral hepatitis · 2025Article
- A Point-of-Care Model for Hepatitis C Elimination in Remote Islands of Taiwan.The Kaohsiung journal of medical sciences · 2025Article
- GenPad: A Highly Efficient Roadmap for the Development of a New Rapid, Highly Sensitive, and Portable Point-of-Care Testing System for Nucleic Acid Diagnostics in Japan.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Feasibility of a prison-based test-and-treat model for enhancing hepatitis C care in Kedah, Malaysia.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Sustained virological response in HCV patients receiving antiviral treatment at a teaching centre of northern India.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2025Article
- Hepatitis C virus care continuum: integrating point of care RNA assay and direct acting antivirals.EXCLI journal · 2025Article
- Epidemiology of Hepatitis B and C Infections in Al-Anbar/Iraq and Correlation Between Viral Load and Liver Function.Advances in virology · 2025Article
- Independent assessment of a point of care HCV RNA test by laboratory analytical testing and a prospective field study in the U.S.PloS one · 2025Article
- Impact of Hepatitis B Virus Point-of-care DNA Viral Load Testing Compared With Laboratory-based Standard-of-care Approaches on Uptake of HBV Viral Load Testing, Treatment, and Turnaround Times: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Open forum infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Determination of hepatitis C virus subtype prevalent in Sindh, Pakistan: a phylogenetic analysis.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Molecular Point-of-Care Testing for Hepatitis C: Available Technologies, Pipeline, and Promising Future Directions.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2024Review
- What Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Diagnostic Tools Are Needed to Advance Diagnosis of Current HCV Infection in Outreach Settings and in a Nonclinical Setting?The Journal of infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Universal screening for HCV infection in China: An effectiveness and cost-effectiveness analysis.JHEP reports : innovation in hepatology · 2024Article
- SASLT guidelines: Update in treatment of hepatitis C virus infection, 2024.Saudi journal of gastroenterology : official journal of the Saudi Gastroenterology Association · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Despite the widespread availability of curative treatment with direct-acting antivirals, a significant proportion of people with HCV remain undiagnosed and untreated. New point-of-care (PoC) HCV RNA assays that can be used in clinical settings may help expand access to testing and treatment. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of PoC HCV viral load assays compared to laboratory-based testing. Methods: We searched three databases for studies published before May 2021 that evaluated PoC HCV RNA assays against a laboratory NAT reference standard (Prospero CRD42021269022). Random effects bivariate models were used to summarize the estimates. Stratified analyses were performed based on geographic region, population (PWID, etc.), and specimen type (serum/plasma or fingerstick; fresh or frozen). We used the GRADE approach to assess the certainty of the evidence. Results: A total of 25 studies were eligible. We evaluated five different commercially available viral load assays. The pooled sensitivity and specificity were 99% (95% CI: 98−99%) and 99% (95% CI: 99−100%), respectively. High sensitivity and specificity were observed across different assays, study settings (including LMICs and HICs), and populations. There was a small but statistically significant reduction in sensitivity for fingersticks compared to serum or plasma samples (98% vs. 100%, p < 0.05), but the specificity was similar between frozen and fresh samples. The evidence was rated as moderate-high certainty. Conclusions: PoC HCV viral load assays demonstrate excellent diagnostic performance in various settings and populations. The WHO now recommends using PoC HCV viral load assays as an additional strategy to promote access to confirmatory viral load testing and treatment.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.