More Frequent HCV Testing Among People Who Inject Drugs May Be Beneficial, Cost-Effective, Study Suggests

Healio (8/4, Byrne) reports a study suggests that “testing for hepatitis C virus infection every 6 to 12 months – or even more frequently – among people who inject drugs could be a beneficial, cost-effective strategy.” Study results revealed that “increasing HCV testing frequency to between every 2 years and every month increased” quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) by “2.9% to 4.5% in the lower transmission network and by 2.5% to 4.6% in the higher transmission network, compared with no testing. Costs also increased by 0.5% and 2.3% when increasing the frequency of testing from every 2 years or once monthly compared to no testing.” In both the lower- and higher-transmission settings, “more frequent HCV testing was cost-effective.” The study was published in JAMA Health Forum.