Abstract
Background: Little is known about the use of an electronic reminder system for HCV screening among patients with kidney disease. In this study, we tried to determine whether reminder systems could improve the HCV screening rate in patients with kidney disease. Methods: Patients with kidney disease were enrolled from August 2019 to December 2020 to automatically screen and order HCV antibody and RNA testing in outpatient departments. Results: A total of 19,316 outpatients with kidney disease were included, and the mean age was 66.5 years. The assessment rate of HCV antibody increased from 53.1% prior to the reminder system to 79.8% after the reminder system (p < 0.001), and the assessment rate of HCV RNA increased from 71% to 82.9%. The anti-HCV seropositivity rate decreased from 7.3% at baseline to 2.5% after the implementation of the reminder system (p < 0.001), and the percentage of patients with detectable HCV RNA among those with anti-HCV seropositivity decreased from 69.1% at baseline to 46.8% (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The feasibility of an electronic reminder system for HCV screening among patients with kidney disease in a hospital-based setting was demonstrated.
Highlights
Hepatitis C is one of the major causes of cirrhosis and hepatoma
The anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) seropositivity rate decreased from 7.3% in the baseline group to 2.5% in the screening group (p < 0.001)
The overall screening rate for anti-HCV antibody increased from 53.1% to 79.8% in the 16-month screening period, and the assessment rate of HCV RNA increased from 71% to 82.9%
Summary
Hepatitis C is one of the major causes of cirrhosis and hepatoma. According to a WHO report, approximately 71.1 million persons experienced hepatitis C virus (HCV) viremia worldwide in 2017 [1]. HCV can accelerate the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and is associated with increased cardiovascular comorbidities in such patients [4,5,6]. Little is known about the HCV prevalence rate in patients with kidney disease, including acute, chronic, or structural kidney diseases, and we designed the study to extend the screening population to all patients with kidney disease at outpatient departments. Little is known about the use of an electronic reminder system for HCV screening among patients with kidney disease. We tried to determine whether reminder systems could improve the HCV screening rate in patients with kidney disease. Methods: Patients with kidney disease were enrolled from August 2019 to December 2020 to automatically screen and order HCV antibody and RNA testing in outpatient departments. Conclusions: The feasibility of an electronic reminder system for HCV screening among patients with kidney disease in a hospital-based setting was demonstrated
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