Table 1
Screening protocols and characteristics.
| Screening Protocols and Characteristics | Venepuncture | Point-of-care test |
|---|---|---|
| Cooperating partners | Chinese community – Key opinion leaders | City of Antwerp/Atlas Integration and Citizenship Education/Church |
| Number of hospital staff | 4–7 | 1 |
| Number screening events | 7 | 13 |
| Number screening sites | 5 | 27 |
| Number of screened persons | 460 | 115 |
Figure 1
Overview of linkage to care of community screening using venepuncture and point-of-care testing (POCT).
Table 2
Characteristics of screened persons not linked to care/linked to care.
| All (n = 39) | Not linked to care1 (n = 22) | Linked to care (n = 17) | p Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demographics | ||||
| Age (mean, years)2 | 46.5 | 46.8 | 45.1 | 0.12 |
| Gender (female, %) | 22 (56.4) | 12 (54.5) | 10 (58.8) | 0.79 |
| Country of origin (China, %) | 38 (97.4) | 22 (100) | 16 (94.1) | 0.25 |
| Residence (Antwerp, %) | 19 (48.7) | 10 (45.5) | 9 (52.9) | 0.64 |
| Type of screening (POCT,6 %) | 7 (17.9) | 1 (4.5) | 6 (35.3) | 0.02 |
| Liver disease | ||||
| HCC surveillance indication (yes, %)2 | 18 (50.0) | 10 (47.6) | 8 (44.4) | 0.96 |
| Treatment indication (yes, %)2 | 6 (16.7) | 3 (13.6) | 3 (16.7) | 0.73 |
| Significant liver fibrosis4 | 3 (13.6) | – | 3 (16.7) | – |
| HBV clinical phase3 | ||||
| ALT > ULN (%)5 | 8 (22.2) | 4 (19.0) | 4 (26.7) | 0.59 |
| HBV DNA > 2,000 lU/mL (%) | 13 (36.1) | 7 (33.3) | 6 (42.9) | 0.57 |
| HBV DNA > 20,000 IU/mL (%) | 7 (19.4) | 3 (14.3) | 4 (28.6) | 0.3 |
| HBeAg (%) | 2 (5.1) | – | 2 (11.8) | – |
[i] 1 Linked to care = specialist care follow-up with HBsAg, ALT and HBV DNA test results and at least 1 abdominal ultrasound.
2,3 Data available for 90% and 92% of patierns, respectively.
4 detected using shear wave elastography, 6 kPa or above [25].
5 Upper Limit of Normal ALT: 41 U/L for males, 31 U/L for females.
6 POCT: Point-of-care testing.
Figure 2
Turn-around time (time-to-result in days) for results of venepuncture screening.
Table 3
Overall costs of venepuncture and point-of-care testing (POCT) screening (in euros).
| Venepuncture | POC | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personnel | Nursing staff | 3634.0 | 0.0 |
| Administrative assistant | 1157.7 | 0.0 | |
| Language services | 160.0 | 0.0 | |
| Study coordinator | 1719.8 | 1013.5 | |
| Physicians | 4366.8 | 0.0 | |
| TOTAL | 11038.3 | 1013.5 | |
| Logistics | Blood tubes, venepuncture materials | 4737.2 | 46.2 |
| Serological tests: HBsAg | 7332.5 | 254.9 | |
| Event logistics (location rent, catering, etc) | 500.0 | 0.0 | |
| Communication costs | 1211.0 | 0.0 | |
| TOTAL | 13780.7 | 301.1 | |
| OVERALL COST | 24819.0 | 1314.6 | |
| Screening uptake | 100% | 88.8% | |
| ADJUSTED COST | 24819.0 | 1461.8 |
Figure 3
Cost comparison per patient screened (in euros).