CHIME - A tailored HCV microelimination project in Viennese people who inject drugs at drug centralized substitution centers.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Hepatitis C remains highly prevalent among people who inject drugs (PWIDs). We propose an integrated approach for screening/diagnostic testing and treatment in 6,665 Viennese PWIDs registered to access opioid agonist therapy (OAT).

Methods

OAT prescriptions were required monthly at one of nine approved authorities, making them ideal platforms for hepatitis C virus (HCV) screening. All PWIDs attending these authorities between January 2019 and March 2020 were offered on-site HCV screening, and consecutive HCV RNA PCR in case of positive HCV serology. In HCV viremic PWIDs, offsite referral to HCV care and treatment according to directly observed therapy (DOT) alongside OAT were performed.

Results

4,327/6,665 (64.9%) individuals were contacted before the COVID

SUBMITTER: Schwarz C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10474458 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature