Opt-out panel testing for hiv, hepatitis b and hepatitis c in an urban emergency department: a pilot study

Objectives Studies suggest 2 per 1000 people in Dublin are living with HIV, the level above which universal screening is advised. We aimed to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a universal opt-out HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C testing programme for Emergency Department patients and to describe the incidence and prevalence of blood-borne viruses in this population. Methods An opt-out ED blood borne virus screening programme was piloted from March 2014 to January 2015. Patients undergoing blood sampling during routine clinical care were offered HIV 1&2 antibody/antigen assay, HBV surface antigen and HCV antibody tests. Linkage to care where necessary was co-ordinated by the study team. New diagnosis and prevalence rates were defined as the new cases per 1000 tested and number of positive tests per 1000 tested respectively. Results Over 45 weeks of testing, of 10,000 patient visits, 8,839 individual patient samples were available for analysis following removal of duplicates. A sustained target uptake of >50% was obtained after week 3.97(1.09%), 44(0.49%) and 447(5.05%) HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C tests were positive respectively. Of these, 7(0.08%), 20(0.22%) and 58(0.66%) were new diagnoses of HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C respectively. The new diagnosis rate for HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C was 0.8, 2.26 and 6.5 per 1000 and study prevalence for HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C was 11.0, 5.0 and 50.5 per 1000 respectively. Conclusions Opt-out blood borne viral screening was feasible and acceptable in an inner-city ED. Blood borne viral infections were prevalent in this population and newly diagnosed cases were diagnosed and linked to care. These results suggest widespread blood borne viral testing in differing clinical locations with differing population demographic risks may be warranted

Opt-out panel testing for hiv, hepatitis b and hepatitis c in an urban emergency department: a pilot study

Objectives Studies suggest 2 per 1000 people in Dublin are living with HIV, the level above which universal screening is advised. We aimed to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a universal opt-out HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C testing programme for Emergency Department patients and to describe the incidence and prevalence of blood-borne viruses in this population. Methods An opt-out ED blood borne virus screening programme was piloted from March 2014 to January 2015. Patients undergoing blood sampling during routine clinical care were offered HIV 1&2 antibody/antigen assay, HBV surface antigen and HCV antibody tests. Linkage to care where necessary was co-ordinated by the study team. New diagnosis and prevalence rates were defined as the new cases per 1000 tested and number of positive tests per 1000 tested respectively. Results Over 45 weeks of testing, of 10,000 patient visits, 8,839 individual patient samples were available for analysis following removal of duplicates. A sustained target uptake of >50% was obtained after week 3.97(1.09%), 44(0.49%) and 447(5.05%) HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C tests were positive respectively. Of these, 7(0.08%), 20(0.22%) and 58(0.66%) were new diagnoses of HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C respectively. The new diagnosis rate for HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C was 0.8, 2.26 and 6.5 per 1000 and study prevalence for HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C was 11.0, 5.0 and 50.5 per 1000 respectively. Conclusions Opt-out blood borne viral screening was feasible and acceptable in an inner-city ED. Blood borne viral infections were prevalent in this population and newly diagnosed cases were diagnosed and linked to care. These results suggest widespread blood borne viral testing in differing clinical locations with differing population demographic risks may be warranted

Raman spectral cytopathology for cancer diagnostic applications

International audienceRaman spectroscopy can provide a rapid, label-free, nondestructive measurement of the chemical fingerprint of a sample and has shown potential for cancer screening and diagnosis. Here we report a protocol for Raman microspectroscopic analysis of different exfoliative cytology samples (cervical, oral and lung), covering sample preparation, spectral acquisition, preprocessing and data analysis. The protocol takes 2 h 20 min for sample preparation, measurement and data preprocessing and up to 8 h for a complete analysis. A key feature of the protocol is that it uses the same sample preparation procedure as commonly used in diagnostic cytology laboratories (i.e., liquid-based cytology on glass slides), ensuring compatibility with clinical workflows. Our protocol also covers methods to correct for the spectral contribution of glass and sample pretreatment methods to remove contaminants (such as blood and mucus) that can obscure spectral features in the exfoliated cells and lead to variability. The protocol establishes a standardized clinical routine allowing the collection of highly reproducible data for Raman spectral cytopathology for cancer diagnostic applications for cervical and lung cancer and for monitoring suspicious lesions for oral cancer

Patient Testing and Results Process.

<p>Patient Testing and Results Process.</p

Positive Patient Age Distribution.

<p>Positive Patient Age Distribution.</p

Demographics of Positive Patients.

<p>Demographics of Positive Patients.</p

Description of Patient Numbers Tested.

<p>Description of Patient Numbers Tested.</p