eprintid: 10146916 rev_number: 9 eprint_status: archive userid: 699 dir: disk0/10/14/69/16 datestamp: 2022-04-21 12:16:33 lastmod: 2022-04-21 12:16:33 status_changed: 2022-04-21 12:16:33 type: article metadata_visibility: show sword_depositor: 699 creators_name: Ades, AE creators_name: Gordon, Fabiana creators_name: Scott, Karen creators_name: Collins, Intira Jeannie creators_name: Thorne, Claire creators_name: Pembrey, Lucy creators_name: Chappell, Elizabeth creators_name: Mariné-Barjoan, Eugènia creators_name: Butler, Karina creators_name: Indolfi, Giuseppe creators_name: Gibb, Diana M creators_name: Judd, Ali title: Spontaneous Clearance Of Vertically Acquired Hepatitis C Infection: Implications For Testing And Treatment ispublished: inpress divisions: UCL divisions: J38 divisions: D65 divisions: B02 keywords: HCV, Hepatitis C virus, over-treatment, spontaneous clearance, vertical transmission note: © The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). abstract: BACKGROUND: Current guidelines recommend that infants born to women with hepatitis C (HCV) viremia are screened for HCV antibody at age 18 months, and if positive, referred for RNA testing at 3 years to confirm chronic infection. This policy is based in part on analyses suggesting 25%-40% of vertically acquired HCV infections clear spontaneously within 4-5 years. METHODS: Data on 179 infants with HCV RNA and/or anti-HCV evidence of vertically acquired infection in three prospective European cohorts were investigated. Ages at clearance of infection were estimated taking account of interval censoring and delayed entry. We also investigated clearance in initially HCV RNA negative infants in whom RNA was not detectable until after 6 weeks. RESULTS: Clearance rates are initially high then decline slowly. Apparently, many infections clear before they can be confirmed. An estimated 65.9% (50.1-81.6) of confirmed infections cleared by 5 years, at a median 12.4 (7.1-18.9) months. If treatment began at age 6 months, 18 months or 3 years, at least 59.0% (42.0-76.9), 39.7% (17.9-65.9), and 20.9% (4.6-44.8) of those treated would clear without treatment. In seven (6.6%) confirmed infections, RNA was not detectable until after 6 weeks, and in 2 (1.9%) not until after 6 months. However, all such cases subsequently cleared. CONCLUSIONS: Most confirmed infection clears by age 3 years. Treatment before age 3, if it was available, would avoid loss to follow-up, but would result in substantial over-treatment. date: 2022-04-09 date_type: published publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP) official_url: https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciac255 oa_status: green full_text_type: other language: eng primo: open primo_central: open_green verified: verified_manual elements_id: 1949791 doi: 10.1093/cid/ciac255 medium: Print-Electronic pii: 6565752 lyricists_name: Gibb, Diana lyricists_name: Thorne, Claire lyricists_id: MGIBB48 actors_name: Gibb, Diana actors_name: Payne, Roxanne actors_id: MGIBB48 actors_id: RPAYN74 actors_role: owner actors_role: impersonator full_text_status: public publication: Clinical Infectious Diseases event_location: United States citation: Ades, AE; Gordon, Fabiana; Scott, Karen; Collins, Intira Jeannie; Thorne, Claire; Pembrey, Lucy; Chappell, Elizabeth; ... Judd, Ali; + view all <#> Ades, AE; Gordon, Fabiana; Scott, Karen; Collins, Intira Jeannie; Thorne, Claire; Pembrey, Lucy; Chappell, Elizabeth; Mariné-Barjoan, Eugènia; Butler, Karina; Indolfi, Giuseppe; Gibb, Diana M; Judd, Ali; - view fewer <#> (2022) Spontaneous Clearance Of Vertically Acquired Hepatitis C Infection: Implications For Testing And Treatment. Clinical Infectious Diseases 10.1093/cid/ciac255 <https://doi.org/10.1093/cid%2Fciac255>. (In press). Green open access document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10146916/7/Gibb_Spontaneous%20Clearance%20Of%20Vertically%20Acquired%20Hepatitis%20C%20Infection.pdf