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Abstract Details
The Hepatitis C Care Cascade During the Direct-Acting Antiviral Era in a United States Commercially Insured Population
Open Forum Infect Dis. 2022 Sep 2;9(9):ofac445. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofac445.eCollection 2022 Sep.
1Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
2Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Center for Real-World Effectiveness and Safety of Therapeutics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
3Section of Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
4Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
5Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
6Division of Infectious Diseases, Boston Medical Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
7Division of Infectious Diseases, Denver Health Medical Center, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, Colorado, USA.
8Philadelphia FIGHT Community Health Centers, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Abstract
Background: Periodic surveillance of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) care cascade is important for tracking progress toward HCV elimination goals, identifying gaps in care, and prioritizing resource allocation. In the pre-direct-acting antiviral (DAA) era, it was estimated that 50% of HCV-infected individuals were diagnosed and that 16% had been prescribed interferon-based therapy. Since then, few studies utilizing nationally representative data from the DAA era have been conducted in the United States.
Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study to describe the HCV care cascade in the United States using the Optum de-identified Clinformatics® Data Mart Database to identify a nationally representative sample of commercially insured beneficiaries between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2019. We estimated the number of HCV-viremic individuals in Optum based on national HCV prevalence estimates and determined the proportion who had: (1) recorded diagnosis of HCV infection, (2) recorded HCV diagnosis and underwent HCV RNA testing, (3) DAA treatment dispensed, and (4) assessment for cure.
Results: Among 120,311 individuals estimated to have HCV viremia in Optum during the study period, 109,233 (90.8%; 95% CI, 90.6%-91.0%) had a recorded diagnosis of HCV infection, 75,549 (62.8%; 95% CI, 62.5%-63.1%) had a recorded diagnosis of HCV infection and underwent HCV RNA testing, 41,102 (34.2%; 95% CI, 33.9%-34.4%) were dispensed DAA treatment, and 25,760 (21.4%; 95% CI, 21.2%-21.6%) were assessed for cure.
Conclusions: Gaps remain between the delivery of HCV-related care and national treatment goals among commercially insured adults. Efforts are needed to increase HCV treatment among people diagnosed with chronic HCV infection to achieve national elimination goals.