Cost-effectiveness of screening and treatment using direct-acting antivirals for chronic Hepatitis C virus in a primary care setting in Karachi, Pakistan.

Despite the availability of effective direct-acting antiviral (DAA) treatments for Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, many people remain undiagnosed and untreated. We assessed the cost-effectiveness of a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) HCV screening and treatment programme within a primary health clinic in Karachi, Pakistan. A health state transition Markov model was developed to estimate the cost-effectiveness of the MSF programme.

Effects and cost of different strategies to eliminate hepatitis C virus transmission in Pakistan: a modelling analysis.

Background: The WHO elimination strategy for hepatitis C virus advocates scaling up screening and treatment to reduce global hepatitis C incidence by 80% by 2030, but little is known about how this reduction could be achieved and the costs of doing so. We aimed to evaluate the effects and cost of different strategies to scale up screening and treatment of hepatitis C in Pakistan and determine what is required to meet WHO elimination targets for incidence.

Methods: We adapted a previous model of hepatitis C virus transmission, treatment, and disease progression for Pakistan, calibrating using available data to incorporate a detailed cascade of care for hepatitis C with cost data on diagnostics and hepatitis C treatment.

From risk to care: the hepatitis C screening and diagnostic cascade in a primary health care clinic in Karachi, Pakistan-a cohort study.

Background: In the high-prevalence setting of Pakistan, screening, diagnosis and treatment services for chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients are commonly offered in specialized facilities. We aimed to describe the cascade of care in a Médecins Sans Frontières primary health care clinic offering CHC care in an informal settlement in Karachi, Pakistan.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort analysis using routinely collected data.

Correction: Management of chronic Hepatitis C at a primary health clinic in the high-burden context of Karachi, Pakistan.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Management of chronic Hepatitis C at a primary health clinic in the high-burden context of Karachi, Pakistan.

Background: The burden of hepatitis C (HCV) infection in Pakistan is among the highest in the world, with a reported national HCV prevalence of 6.7% in 2014. In specific populations, such as in urban communities in Karachi, the prevalence is suspected to be higher.

Unregulated usage of labour-inducing medication in a region of Pakistan with poor drug regulatory control: characteristics and risk patterns.

Background: In developing countries such as Pakistan, poor training of mid-level cadres of health providers, combined with unregulated availability of labour-inducing medication can carry considerable risk for mother and child during labour. Here, we describe the exposure to labour-inducing medication and its possible risks in a vulnerable population in a conflict-affected region of Pakistan.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study using programme data, compared the outcomes of obstetric risk groups of women treated with unregulated oxytocin, with those of women with regulated treatment.