Hepatitis Screening at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center

Chronic Hepatitis is the leading cause of liver cancer, affecting about 3 million Americans. However, the majority of those infected do not know their status because they have never been tested.

To help identify those at risk, Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center recently implemented an Emergency Department (ED)-based screening program for both Hepatitis B and C. Similar ED-based FOCUS screening programs have been implemented in more than 50 Emergency Departments around the country. The testing follows best-practice recommendations by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

A U.S. national strategy for Hepatitis elimination recently prioritized more screening efforts and linkage to care for those with Hepatitis to prevent cancer. The Center for Asian Health at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center has led many efforts to educate and provide viral hepatitis screening to the at-risk population in New Jersey.

For more information on Hepatitis, see following resources.

Resources

Center for Asian Health
Clinical Testing and Diagnosis for Hepatitis B | Hepatitis B | CDC
Clinical Screening and Diagnosis for Hepatitis C | Hepatitis C | CDC
Department of Health | Communicable Disease Service | Viral Hepatitis
Viral Hepatitis National Strategic Plan | HHS.gov

Publications/Posters

Harris AM, Link-Gelles R, Kim K, Chandrasekar E, Wang S, Bannister N, Pong P, Chak E, Chen MS Jr, Bowlus C, Nelson NP. Community-Based Services to Improve Testing and Linkage to Care Among Non-U.S.-Born Persons with Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection - Three U.S. Programs, October 2014-September 2017. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2018 May 18;67(19):541-546. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6719a2. PMID: 29771873; PMCID: PMC6048941.

Brogden, Ruth & Wang, Su & Xu, Binghong. (2021). Finding the missing millions: Integrating automated viral hepatitis screening in a hospital with care and treatment in a primary care setting. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 39. 108-108. 10.1200/JCO.2021.39.15_suppl.108.

Xu B, Brogden RP, Patel AJ, Gallipani A, Yango J, Adedeji MO, Wang S. 908. Dismantling Barriers to Hepatitis Elimination: Automated Hepatitis C Screening with Care and Cure by a Primary Care Based Team. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2021 Dec 4;8(Suppl 1):S545–6. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofab466.1103. PMCID: PMC8644166.

WED-433 Combatting blood-borne viral syndemics with automated electronic based screenings of HBV, HCV, HDV and HIV in a hospital

Wang, Su et al. Journal of Hepatology, Volume 80, S661 - S662

Interview

Dr. Wang on the Rationale for Viral Hepatitis Screening to Prevent HCC