August 04, 2025
3 min learn
Key takeaways:
- Extra frequent HCV testing was cost-effective amongst individuals who inject medicine in each high- and low-transmission settings.
- Hurt-reduction methods, similar to syringe providers, additionally improved cost-effectiveness.
Testing for hepatitis C virus an infection each 6 to 12 months — or much more regularly — amongst individuals who inject medicine may very well be a helpful, cost-effective technique, in keeping with a research revealed in JAMA Well being Discussion board.

Lin Zhu
“Providing HCV testing to individuals who inject medicine at the very least every year could also be a great choice, and fostering engagement in HCV care amongst individuals who inject medicine by making a non-stigmatizing and supportive well being care surroundings can be useful,” Lin Zhu, PhD, assistant professor within the division of public well being sciences at College of Miami Miller Faculty of Medication, informed Healio. “When possible, implementing evidence-based methods to cut back threat of reinfection amongst sufferers who inject medicine would improve the well being and financial advantages of HCV testing and remedy.”

Transmission of HCV amongst individuals who inject medicine (PWID) is usually by means of sharing of needles, syringes and different injection gear, in keeping with researchers.
Though the affect and cost-effectiveness of HCV remedy, testing and care has been extensively studied, little is understood about optimum testing frequency on this inhabitants.
“Power hepatitis C is a number one reason for liver most cancers in the US,” Zhu, who beforehand served as senior analysis engineer within the division of well being coverage at Stanford College, mentioned. “The arrival of extremely efficacious and well-tolerated direct-acting antiviral remedies for hepatitis C virus has raised prospects for HCV elimination. Nonetheless, progress towards this purpose has been restricted, particularly amongst PWID, who account for almost all of each prevalent and incident instances.”
Zhu and colleagues used a dynamic, agent-based community simulation mannequin of HCV transmission by means of shared injection gear to find out the advantages and cost-effectiveness of varied testing frequencies amongst PWID.
Their analyses included testing in a PWID setting with decrease HCV transmission in addition to a better transmission one. They used information collected from November 2008 to August 2010, complemented by revealed outcomes from the literature for the community simulation.
Adjustments in cumulative quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), well being care prices over 60 years (in 2021 U.S. {dollars}) and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs), discounted at 3% yearly, served as main outcomes.
The simulated inhabitants included 1,552 PWID (median preliminary age, 32 years).
Outcomes confirmed that growing HCV testing frequency to between each 2 years and each month elevated QALYS by 2.9% to 4.5% within the decrease transmission community and by 2.5% to 4.6% within the increased transmission community, in contrast with no testing. Prices additionally elevated by 0.5% and a couple of.3% when growing the frequency of testing from each 2 years or as soon as month-to-month in comparison with no testing.
Within the decrease transmission setting, ICERs had been $6,000 per QALY for testing yearly, $9,300 per QALY each 6 months, $24,200 per QALY each 3 months and $138,400 per QALY each month; testing each 2 years was weakly dominated by extra frequent testing methods.
In a better transmission setting, ICERs had been $14,000 per QALY for testing each 6 months, $30,100 per QALY each 3 months and $93,300 per QALY each month; testing each 2 years and testing yearly had been each weakly dominated.
“HCV testing amongst PWID each 6 or 12 months had incremental cost-effectiveness ratios of lower than $15,000 per quality-adjusted life 12 months gained in contrast with no testing, assuming a established order continuum of care and no further harm-reduction providers,” Zhu mentioned. “These ICERs can be considered indicating very excessive worth for cash in contrast with generally used benchmarks suggesting that ICERs lower than $100,000 to $150,000 per QALY are thought of affordable.
“As well as, growing entry to and utilization of HCV care amongst PWID and incorporating harm-reduction providers, similar to syringe providers and drugs for opioid use dysfunction, would additional enhance the cost-effectiveness of HCV testing and remedy,” she added.
The researchers acknowledged research limitations, together with that month-to-month well being care price estimates for PWID had been derived from a medical trial setting and may be excessive for community-dwelling PWID, who might have decrease well being care entry.
“This doubtless overestimated the whole well being care prices in all eventualities however disproportionately affected the eventualities with excessive frequencies of testing, since HCV testing and remedy would enhance the common lifespan of PWID,” Zhu informed Healio. “If month-to-month well being care prices related to drug use are decrease, frequent HCV testing and remedy may be extra engaging.
“Future research offering such prices might assist to enhance cost-effectiveness evaluation outcomes,” she added.
For extra data:
Lin Zhu, PhD, may be reached at l.zhu3@med.miami.edu.