ENABLE - Blackpool
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Unlinked, anonymous seroprevalence survey of hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV amongst adult attendees at Emergency Department at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals . (ENABLE - Blackpool)
IRAS ID
223112
Contact name
Achyut Guleri
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 4 months, days
Research summary
The Blood Borne Viruses (BBV) HIV, HBV and HCV are major public health problems both globally and in the UK, with significant associated morbidity and mortality. It is estimated that 21% of those infected with HIV and 50% of those with HCV in the UK are undiagnosed; no published estimates are available for HBV but are likely to be of similar magnitude. Hospital emergency departments (EDs) provide a key access point for people felt to be at high risk for BBV including those who are migrants, are not registered at a GP, are homeless, or who inject drugs. Despite this, there is no systematic testing guidance in EDs. The goal of this project is to establish the seroprevalence of BBVs in the population attending a large ED in central Liverpool to help inform local policies for testing for BBV and helping people to engage with services to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with late diagnosis along with reducing onward transmission in the community.
The design used in this study is unlinked anonymous testing of surplus blood samples collected from patients aged 18 to 65 years attending the ED for other reasons; that is, the blood was not originally taken for testing for BBV. Unlike voluntary testing for clinical purposes, unlinked anonymous testing (UAT) of blood is carried out in order to provide information about how common (how prevalent) the BBV is in the population of interest, in this case, people attending ED. In other words, testing these remnant blood samples for BBV hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV will allow us to calculate the proportion (or overall prevalence) and 10 year age band/sex specific prevalence of people attending EDs who are infected with one or more of these BBVs.
REC name
London - Camden & Kings Cross Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/LO/0664
Date of REC Opinion
20 Apr 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion