Predictors of Linkage to Care for a Nontargeted Emergency Department Hepatitis C Screening Program

Hepatitis C (HCV) is the most common chronic blood-borne illness in the United States, estimated to affect 2.7 to 3.9 million persons [1,2]. A leading cause of end stage liver disease, hepatocellular carcinoma, and liver transplantation [2 –4], HCV is now responsible for more deaths annually in the U.S. than HIV, tuberculosis, and 58 other nationally reportable infectious diseases combined [5]. As an estimated three quarters of HCV-infected individuals in the U.S. were born between 1945 and 1965, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) issued recommendations in 2012 that all baby boomers receive routine, one-time HCV testing [6,7].

Source: The American Journal of Emergency Medicine - November 28, 2019 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Joshua A. Blackwell, Joel B. Rodgers, Ricardo A. Franco, Stacey S. Cofield, Lauren A. Walter, James W. Galbraith, Erik P. Hess Source Type: research