Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38969354›Full record

ArticleThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2025

Pilot postal birth cohort hepatitis C virus screening in UK primary care: HepCAPP study.

Ruth Simmons, Annabel A Powell, Samreen Ijaz, Sema Mandal, Justin Shute, Yasmin Mohammadi, Michael Lattimore, Kelsey McOwat, Hannah L Moore, Aisling O'Rourke and 9 more

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Article in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

19 authors.

Ruth SimmonsUK Health Security Agency, London, UK.
Annabel A PowellUK Health Security Agency, London, UK.
Samreen IjazUK Health Security Agency, London, UK.
Sema MandalUK Health Security Agency, London, UK.
Justin ShuteUK Health Security Agency, London, UK.
Yasmin MohammadiUK Health Security Agency, London, UK.
Michael LattimoreUK Health Security Agency, London, UK.
Kelsey McOwatUK Health Security Agency, London, UK.
Hannah L MooreUK Health Security Agency, London, UK.
Aisling O'RourkePopulation Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Monica DesaiUK Health Security Agency, London, UK.
John MacleodCentre for Academic Primary Care, Population Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol.
Asra AsgharzadehPopulation Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol and NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Evaluation of Interventions, University of Bristol, Bristol.
Zoe WardPopulation Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol and NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Evaluation of Interventions, University of Bristol, Bristol.
Peter VickermanPopulation Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol and NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Evaluation of Interventions, University of Bristol, Bristol.
Ross J HarrisUK Health Security Agency, London, UK.
Graham R FosterCentre for Immunobiology, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
Kirsty RobertsPopulation Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-0765-3752
Matthew HickmanPopulation Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol and NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Evaluation of Interventions, University of Bristol, Bristol.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundBirth cohort screening has been implemented in some countries to identify the potentially 'missed population' of people with undiagnosed chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) who may not be found through targeted approaches.

aimTo determine uptake of HCV antibody testing using an oral swab screening method, the overall yield, whether those testing positive had risk markers in their primary care record, and the cost per case detected. DESIGN AND

settingThis was a pilot screening study set in general practices in the Southwest of England, Yorkshire and Humber, and South London.

methodParticipants consenting were sent an oral swab kit in the post and saliva samples were tested for antibodies to HCV.

resultsIn total, 16 436/98 396 (16.7%) patients consented and were sent an oral swab kit. Of these, 12 216 (12.4%) returned a kit, with 31 participants (yield 0.03%) testing positive for HCV antibodies. Of those positive, 14/35 (45%) had a risk marker for HCV on their primary care record. Two (yield 0.002%) were confirmed RNA positive and referred for treatment, both had HCV risk markers. The cost per case was £16 000 per HCV antibody detected and £247 997 per chronic HCV detected.

conclusionWide-scale screening could be delivered and identify people infected with HCV, however, most of these individuals could have been detected through lower-cost targeted screening. The yield and cost per case found in patients were substantially worse than model estimates and targeted screening studies. Birth cohort screening should not be rolled out in primary care in England.

Indexed as

HepacivirusHepatitis C AntibodiesHepatitis C, ChronicMass ScreeningPrimary Health CareAdultCohort StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPilot ProjectsPostal ServiceSalivaUnited KingdomHepatitis C Antibodiesbirth cohort screeningcost per case foundhepatitis Cprimary health care

Identifiers

PMID38969354
PMCPMC11789811

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Registered trials

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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.