Clinic of Valladolid, pioneer in the Community, awarded the quality mark in the fight against hepatitis C.

The University Clinical Hospital of Valladolid reaches a level of excellence in the implementation of the “Decalogue for the Elimination of Hepatitis C at Hospital Level”, a certificate issued by the main scientific societies involved in the diagnosis and treatment of this pathology in our country. , including the Spanish Association for the Study of the Liver, as announced today by the Ministry of Health in a statement.

It was during the recently celebrated Liver Week, organized by this association, that the clinic became a pioneering Castilian-Leonese center to receive this certificate of excellence, a distinction awarded to the León University Complex and the Virgen de la Concha Hospital in Zamora.

According to the Ministry of Health, the care measures that imply the implementation of this decalogue at the University Teaching Hospital of Valladolid are in line with the commitment to care and efforts made against hepatitis C, both from the World Health Organization goal and to its elimination in 2030. as in the National Strategic Plan to Eliminate Hepatitis C in the National Health System.

Likewise, the ministry explained that eliminating hepatitis C requires interdisciplinary and coordinated work between health professionals involved in the care and attention of affected people, from their initial diagnosis to access to treatment when needed.

“Receiving this quality certificate is in itself a recognition of the effectiveness and commitment to the eradication of hepatitis C, in which the various departments and services of the University Hospital of Valladolid, led by the Digestive System Service, are strongly involved. , to promote a more global and preventative approach to treating people with this pathology,” Health said.

Thus, during the six months of development of the Decalogue for the Elimination of Hepatitis C at Hospital Level, 25 patients with viremic hepatitis C were saved without a therapeutic approach, made possible by effective cross-referencing of data between hospital microbiology and pharmacy services.

In this context, those with a positive PCR result for hepatitis C virus (HCV) detected in microbiology are reported directly to the hepatology department of the clinic, which is responsible for contacting the patient as soon as possible, thereby ensuring that no patient is left behind outside. system and allows for more complete monitoring of these users.

Another of the most relevant aspects of the decalogue is the simplification of the diagnostic process, due to which, already at the first visit to hepatology, after confirmation of HCV PCR and consideration of possible drug interactions, the necessary studies are carried out to assess the condition of the liver. stiffness (elastography), and at the same consultation, appropriate medications are prescribed and the patient is directly enrolled in the hospital pharmacy in order to optimize the initiation of treatment as much as possible.

The decalogue also emphasizes the importance of early care and adequate treatment of vulnerable populations, which means extra effort to verify that, for example, all people with cirrhosis have hepatitis C virus serology, a process in which a case of hepatitis C was also diagnosed in a pregnant woman women.

In addition, since its introduction, and in order to reduce the transmission of hepatitis C virus among these vulnerable populations, serological tests for this pathogen are routinely carried out in all patients with sexually transmitted diseases, as well as in the infectious diseases department of the Valladolid Hospital. A protocol was introduced whereby every new admission to the Valladolid penitentiary center also undergoes a serological test for HCV.

Rapid tests are also being conducted in shelters and drop-in centers for disadvantaged people and groups, meaning increased diagnosis and treatment for traditionally underserved populations.

These measures, deriving from the “Decalogue for the Elimination of Hepatitis C at Hospital Level” adopted by the University Teaching Hospital of Valladolid, represent the first very positive balance in order to eradicate this pathology and allow an approach from both the health and public health sides. safety factors of cardiovascular risk, as well as concomitant infectious diseases in patients.