title: Opt-Out Panel Testing for HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C in an Urban Emergency Department: A Pilot Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genito-Urinary Medicine and Infectious Disease, St James's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: O'Connell
authors.affiliation: Emergency Medicine Department, St James's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Darren
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lillis
authors.affiliation: Department of Genito-Urinary Medicine and Infectious Disease, St James's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Aoife
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cotter
authors.affiliation: Department of Genito-Urinary Medicine and Infectious Disease, St James's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Siobhan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: O'Dea
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases Department, Galway University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tuite
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases Department, Galway University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fleming
authors.affiliation: Microbiology Department, St James's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Brendan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Crowley
authors.affiliation: Microbiology Department, St James's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Fitzgerald
authors.affiliation: Microbiology Department, St James's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dalby
authors.affiliation: Microbiology Department, St James's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Barry
authors.affiliation: Emergency Medicine Department, St James's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Darragh
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shields
authors.affiliation: Hepatology Department, St James's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.|Department of Clinical Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Norris
authors.affiliation: Emergency Medicine Department, St James's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Patrick K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Plunkett
authors.affiliation: Department of Genito-Urinary Medicine and Infectious Disease, St James's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.|Department of Clinical Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Colm
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bergin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D015488:HIV Antigens / Q000097:blood; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000097:blood; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D006786:Hospitals, Urban; D006801:Humans; D007494:Ireland / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015995:Prevalence; D014766:Viremia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015488:HIV Antigens; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies