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Screening for Hepatitis c in People Who Inject Drugs in Armenia-Colombia

NCT06463912 · Status: RECRUITING · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 205

Last updated 2024-06-18

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Hepatitis C virus infection is a major cause of chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. The risk of developing cirrhosis for people with chronic infection with the virus ranges from 15% to 30% over 20 years. Despite undeniable advances in the treatment of hepatitis C infection and the WHO strategy to eliminate hepatitis C by 2030, this infection continues to be a major public health problem globally and many HCV-positive individuals are unaware of their HIV status. People who inject drugs (PWID) are at increased risk for HCV. Several studies have reported high HCV prevalence rates, especially among PWID. PWID are usually exposed to a higher risk of various infectious diseases, mainly due to their drug consumption behaviors and habits, in addition to the risks and harms associated with the respective routes of self-administration.

Worldwide, there are around 11 million PWIDs and there are approximately 2.3 million coinfections between HIV and HCV worldwide, of which more than half (1.3 million) occur in PWID. The coexistence of these two health conditions leads to accelerate the progression of liver disease. The global prevalence of HCV in 2019 among PWID was 50.2%, which is equivalent to 5.6 million people who inject drugs and live with hepatitis C. PWID had been considered a difficult group to reach, manage, and treat because HCV treatment management in these individuals is challenging and they have a higher risk of reinfection and some past HCV treatment guidelines excluded PWIDs from consideration, citing concerns about adherence, increased susceptibility to side effects, and reinfection. However, there is now compelling evidence that HCV treatment is safe and effective among PWID.

In Colombia, the prevalence of hepatitis C among PWID has been measured locally in some cities. In Bogotá, it went from 1.7% in 2002 to 6.7% in 2014. For 2021, the prevalence of hepatitis C was measured in Bogotá, Medellín, Santiago de Cali, the metropolitan area of Pereira, Dos Quebradas, Medellín, Cucuta, and Armenia. The results of prevalence of antibodies against hepatitis C were as follows: Cali with 80.2%, is the city with the highest reactivity, followed by Pereira and Dos Quebradas with 71.4%, Armenia with 69.6%, and Cucuta with 62.8%. We do not have recent data about the impact of intervention to reduce HVC transmission in those groups.

Conditions

  • Hepatitis C Virus Infection

Interventions

OTHER

Does not apply

A descriptive cross-sectional study will be carried out in the city of Armenia-Colombia. A total of 205 PWID, 18 years to 65 years old will be included. They will be selected through the implementation of the respondent-driven sampling (RDS).

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Asociación Colombiana de Hepatología

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Javier Hernández Blanco, MD · Asociación Colombiana de Hepatología

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
100 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2024-05-20
Primary Completion
2025-01-30
Completion
2025-03-31

Countries

  • Colombia

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT06463912 on ClinicalTrials.gov