Kayes Tahrima, Di Girolamo Julia, Prince David S, Crane Harry, Pipicella Joseph, Bagatella Melissa, Jones Nathan, Middleton Paul M, Levy Miriam T
Department of Gastroenterology and Liver, Liverpool Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Intern Med J. 2025 Sep;55(9):1491-1499. doi: 10.1111/imj.70157. Epub 2025 Jul 23.
Screening for viral hepatitis by automatically ordering hepatitis B and C serology on blood samples already collected from patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) is a relatively novel concept, with modest costs involved.
The aim of this study was to determine patient and healthcare worker perspectives of automatic hepatitis screening at a large metropolitan hospital in Sydney, Australia.
In this cross-sectional survey study, patients admitted via ED and ED healthcare workers (HCWs) were invited to participate. The primary outcome was the level of patient and HCW acceptability of an automatic hepatitis screening process. Secondary outcomes were patient and HCW knowledge of viral hepatitis, perceptions and barriers to ED hepatitis screening in the absence of an automatic process.
Ninety-two percent of 273 patients who participated in the survey wished to know their viral hepatitis status, and 82% found automatic hepatitis B and C testing acceptable as part of their ED blood work. HCWs surveyed (48) believed this strategy would increase testing, as most did not routinely interrogate patients for risk factors or other eligibility criteria for hepatitis testing, as the presenting ED complaint was their priority. Even when indications for testing based on current guidelines were present, few (32%) HCWs initiated testing.
Automatic viral hepatitis testing in ED is supported by the majority of patients and HCWs, and the latter believe it would increase testing rates. Increasing identification of patients with hepatitis, if accompanied by effective linkage to care, could facilitate World Health Organization elimination goals.
通过自动对已从急诊科就诊患者采集的血样进行乙肝和丙肝血清学检测来筛查病毒性肝炎是一个相对新颖的概念，成本适中。
本研究的目的是确定澳大利亚悉尼一家大型都市医院患者和医护人员对自动肝炎筛查的看法。
在这项横断面调查研究中，邀请了通过急诊科入院的患者和急诊科医护人员参与。主要结果是患者和医护人员对自动肝炎筛查流程的接受程度。次要结果是患者和医护人员对病毒性肝炎的了解、在没有自动流程的情况下对急诊科肝炎筛查的看法和障碍。
参与调查的273名患者中，92%希望了解自己的病毒性肝炎状况，82%认为作为急诊科血液检查的一部分，自动进行乙肝和丙肝检测是可以接受的。接受调查的医护人员（48名）认为这种策略会增加检测，因为大多数人没有常规询问患者肝炎检测的风险因素或其他合格标准，因为处理急诊科的就诊主诉是他们的首要任务。即使存在基于当前指南的检测指征，也很少有医护人员（32%）进行检测。
急诊科自动进行病毒性肝炎检测得到了大多数患者和医护人员的支持，医护人员认为这会提高检测率。增加对肝炎患者的识别，如果能有效地与护理相衔接，有助于实现世界卫生组织的消除目标。
