This project will involve a systematic review of published research evidence on the clinical effectiveness, harms, cost-effectiveness, and associated patient preferences and values of screening for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in asymptomatic non-pregnant adults; as well as of the diagnostic test accuracy of one screening test available in Canada, the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) version 3.0 test, compared with the reference standard PCR test, for detecting HCV infection in the same population.

Contents

• RATIONALE AND POLICY ISSUES
  • Treatment
  • Screening and Diagnosis
  • Objectives
• RESEARCH QUESTIONS
  • Hepatitis C Virus Screening
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay Version 3.0 Test
• METHODS
  • Search Strategy
  • Eligibility Criteria
  • Screening and Selecting Studies for Inclusion
  • Exclusion Criteria
  • Data Collection and Extraction
  • Critical Appraisal and Risk of Bias Assessment
• SUMMARY OF EVIDENCE AND DATA SYNTHESIS
  • Description of Study Characteristics
  • Summary of Critical Appraisal
  • Data Synthesis
  • Assessment of the Overall Quality of the Evidence Using GRADE
• SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS
• PEER REVIEW
• AREAS FOR POTENTIAL AMENDMENTS
• STUDY TEAM
• CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT
• REFERENCES
• APPENDIX 1 LITERATURE SEARCH STRATEGY
• APPENDIX 2 FULL-TEXT SCREENING CHECKLIST
• APPENDIX 3 PRISMA FLOW CHART TEMPLATE
• APPENDIX 4 DATA ABSTRACTION FORM — CLINICAL EFFECTIVENESS, HARMS, DIAGNOSTIC TEST ACCURACY
• APPENDIX 5 DATA ABSTRACTION FORM — COST-EFFECTIVENESS
• APPENDIX 6 DATA ABSTRACTION FORM — PATIENT PREFERENCES
• APPENDIX 7 QUALITY APPRAISAL CRITERIA — SURVEYS

Suggested citation:

Screening for hepatitis C virus: a systematic review and meta-analysis – project protocol. Ottawa: CADTH; 2015 Dec.

Production of this report is made possible by financial contributions from Health Canada and the governments of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan, and Yukon. The Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) takes sole responsibility for the final form and content of this report. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of Health Canada or any provincial or territorial government.

PROSPERO Registration Number: CRD42015029568