Blood-borne virus testing in European emergency departments: current evidence and service considerations

Innovative testing approaches are needed to meet global targets for the blood-borne viruses (BBVs) HIV, hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV). We conducted a systematic review of BBV testing in emergency departments (EDs) in Europe to evaluate prevalence, effectiveness of ED testing and linkage to care (LTC). We searched PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library for articles on ED BBV testing published between January 2012 and July 2022. Studies conducted outside Europe or prior to 2012 were excluded owing to epidemiological and healthcare service variation, together with studies that did not report core parameters. Reference lists from included articles were manually searched. Seventeen original articles met the inclusion criteria. Seven studies reported on HIV testing only. ED prevalence: HIV Ab, 0.0%-1.1%; HBsAg, 0.2%-0.9%; and HCV RNA, 0.2%-3.9%. BBV testing uptake varied by policy and offer methodology: opt-out, provider-initiated: 9.7%-44.2%; electronic health record (EHR) modification: 52.1%-88.9%; and opt-in, provider-initiated: 3.9%-37.7%. LTC rates were 8.1%-100% and varied by BBV, generally highest for HIV and lowest for HCV. There was variable detail in outcome reporting and description of clinical LTC pathways. ED BBV testing in Europe is feasible and identifies high numbers of infections (including, where reported, new diagnoses and disengaged patients), often among marginalized populations who use open-access EDs for healthcare. Factors associated with higher levels of sustained testing uptake included opt-out testing (vs opt-in), EHR (vs provider-initiated) and integration of community services. We propose a toolkit of components necessary for a high-performing ED BBV testing programme.