Hepatitis C Virus Infection in the Dallas County Jail: Implications for Screening, Prevention, and Linkage to Care.

OBJECTIVES: Screening for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in jail provides an opportunity to educate and offer care to a high-risk population. We aimed to (1) estimate the prevalence of HCV infection in jail; (2) describe the demographic characteristics, risk factors, and pre-incarceration health insurance status associated with HCV infection; and (3) examine the implementation of HCV screening in jail. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of an opt-out HCV screening program with HCV RNA confirmation and patient education at the Dallas County Jail from April 1 through November 2, 2017. We extracted data on test results, demographic characteristics, and release destination from electronic medical records. A nurse navigator recorded data on patient self-reported risk factors and pre-incarceration health insurance status. RESULTS: Of 4089 incarcerated persons screened, 708 (17.3%) had a positive HCV antibody result. Of these, 641 (90.5%) had an HCV RNA test ordered; 576 (89.9%) had RNA tests completed, of whom 413 (71.7%) had a positive HCV RNA result. Of these 413, 352 (85.2%) received patient education. Half of HCV RNA-positive incarcerated persons (n = 207, 50.1%) were born outside the birth cohort (1945-1965). Among those with HCV infection, commonly reported risk factors were injection drug use (168 of 352; 47.8%) and tattoos (82 of 352; 23.4%). Most incarcerated persons with HCV infection (284 of 350; 81.1%) did not have health insurance. HCV antibody prevalence was higher among incarcerated persons released to prison (232 of 961; 24.1%) than to outside agencies (38 of 403; 9.4%) or the community (178 of 1026; 17.4%). CONCLUSIONS: Screening for HCV with RNA confirmation in jail provides an opportunity for disease education, transmission prevention, and navigation to HCV treatment. Future efforts should examine post-incarceration linkage to care.

Reducing Wait Time Between Admission and Chemotherapy Initiation.

PURPOSE: Reducing the length of stay is a high-priority objective for all health care institutions. Delays in chemotherapy initiation for planned preadmissions lead to patient dissatisfaction and prolonged length of stay. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A multidisciplinary team was formed as part of the ASCO Quality Training Program. We aimed to reduce the time to initiation of chemotherapy from patient arrival at Parkland Hospital from a median of 6.2 hours at baseline to 4 hours over a 6-month period (35% reduction). The team identified inconsistency in blood work requirements, poor communication, and nonstandard patient arrival times as key causes of delay in the process. Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles were implemented based on identified improvement opportunities. The outcome measure was time from arrival to chemotherapy start. Data were obtained from time stamps in the electronic health record. RESULTS: The first PDSA cycle included patient reminders to arrive at specific times, improved communication using a smartphone secure messaging application, and preadmission notes by oncology fellows detailing whether fresh blood work were needed on admission. Baseline data from 36 patients and postimplementation data from 28 patients were analyzed. Median time from admission to chemotherapy initiation preprocess change was 6.2 hours; it was 3.2 hours postchange. A sustained shift in the process was apparent on a control chart. CONCLUSION: Delays in initiation of chemotherapy can be prevented using classic quality improvement methodology and a multidisciplinary team. We aim to further refine our PDSA cycles and ensure sustainability of change.

Acceptability of HIV Testing Among Jail Inmates When Combined With a Blood Test for Tuberculosis.

Incarcerated individuals are at high risk of HIV and tuberculosis (TB), though combined screening in the criminal justice system is limited. Newer blood tests for TB provide a unique opportunity to combine HIV and TB testing in corrections. Entering jail inmates were offered routine opt-out HIV testing along with TB screening, both via blood draw. Of the 529 individuals enrolled, 524 (99%) agreed to HIV testing. Testing identified 13 (2.5%) previously diagnosed HIV infections and one new positive. One quarter (138, 26%) of participants had never been tested for HIV and were more likely to be young, Hispanic, born outside of the United States, and incarcerated for the first time. Combined HIV/TB testing had high acceptability among individuals entering jail.

Opt-out HIV and Hepatitis C Testing at the Dallas County Jail: Uptake, Prevalence, and Demographic Characteristics of Testers.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection are common in the criminal justice system. We offered opt-out HIV/HCV testing at the Dallas County Jail during intake from June 2015 to November 2016, after which testing was integrated into routine phlebotomy processes. The uptake of testing increased from 12.9% (118/915) in June 2015 to 80.5% (269/334) in January 2016. HIV was confirmed in 1.0% (30/3155) of inmates; 6 were new diagnoses and all were linked to care. HCV antibody positivity was found in 16.4% (500/4042) of inmates. Sixty percent (155/258) of HCV-positive inmates born between 1945 and 1965 (ie, baby boomers) were non-Hispanic black, whereas 56.2% (136/242) born after 1965 were non-Hispanic white. Testing only baby boomers would have missed approximately half of HCV infections, predominantly among young, non-Hispanic white people. Future efforts should expand HIV and HCV testing in jails, as it is feasible, acceptable, and increases prevention and engagement in care for a high-prevalence, hard-to-reach population.

Cost analysis of tuberculin skin test and the QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-tube test for tuberculosis screening in a correctional setting in Dallas, Texas, USA.

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) disproportionately affects immigrants, HIV-infected individuals, and those living in crowded settings such as homeless shelters and correctional facilities. Although the majority of jails and prisons use a tuberculin skin test (TST) for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) screening, limited data exist on the clinical performance and costs of the TST compared to interferon gamma release assays (IGRAs) in this setting. METHODS: A prospective pilot study comparing cost between TST and an IGRA (QuantiFERON Gold In-tube, QFT-GIT) for the detection of LTBI in a convenience sample of inmates entering the Dallas County Jail (DCJ) was conducted June-October 2014. Participants completed a risk questionnaire, TST placement, QFT-GIT testing, and were offered opt-out HIV-Ab testing. LTBI prevalence based on TST and QFT-GIT results, an evaluation of discordant results and a cost analysis are presented. RESULTS: A total of 529 subjects were enrolled. The majority were male (75 %), and 46 % were Black, 29 % White, and 24 % Hispanic. Most (85 %) had been previously incarcerated. Over 28 % of participants were released prior to TST reading, with paired QFT-GIT and TST results available for 351 subjects. Of these, nine (2.6 %) tested positive by TST and 47 (13.4 %) tested positive by QFT-GIT. It costs $23.27 more per inmate per year to screen with QFT-GIT than TST in this population, though the cost per LTBI case detected was nearly three times higher for TST than QFT-GIT ($1247 v $460). CONCLUSIONS: We found a substantially higher rate of QFT-GIT positivity compared to TST in this sample of individuals entering the Dallas County Jail. Although no gold standard exists, this finding may indicate under-recognized LTBI in this setting. QFT-GIT as an initial screening tool was more time-efficient, had four-fold fewer labor costs and provided results on more individuals when compared with the TST. The overall cost of QFT-GIT was $23.27 more per inmate per year, though the cost per LTBI case detected was nearly three times higher for TST than QFT-GIT. Further research is needed to determine the long-term performance of IGRA testing in the correctional setting and the public health implications of pairing QFT-GIT screening with other tests for communicable diseases.

A randomized, controlled trial of chlorhexidine-soaked cloths to reduce methicillin-resistant and methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus carriage prevalence in an urban jail.

OBJECTIVE: To assess an intervention to limit community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) dissemination. DESIGN: Randomized, controlled trial. SETTING: County Jail, Dallas, Texas. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 4,196 detainees in 68 detention tanks. METHODS: Tanks were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: in group 1, detainees received cloths that contained chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) to clean their entire skin surface 3 times per week for 6 months; group 2 received identical cloths containing only water; and group 3 received no skin treatment. During the study, all newly arrived detainees were invited to enroll. Nares and hand cultures were obtained at baseline and from all current enrollees at 2 and 6 months. RESULTS: At baseline, S. aureus was isolated from 41.2% and MRSA from 8.0% (nares and/or hand) of 947 enrollees. The average participation rate was 47%. At 6 months, MRSA carriage was 10.0% in group 3 and 8.7% in group 1 tanks (estimated absolute risk reduction [95% confidence interval (CI)], 1.4% [-4.8% to 7.1%]; P = .655). At 6 months, carriage of any S. aureus was 51.1% in group 3, 40.7% in group 1 (absolute risk reduction [95% CI], 10.4% [0.01%-20.1%]; P = .047), and 42.8% (absolute risk reduction [95% CI], 8.3% [-1.4% to 18.0%]; P = .099) in group 2. CONCLUSIONS: Skin cleaning with CHG for 6 months in detainees, compared with no intervention, significantly decreased carriage of S. aureus, and use of water cloths produced a nonsignificant but similar decrease. A nonsignificant decrease in MRSA carriage was found with CHG cloth use. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT00785200.

Hand and nasal carriage of discordant Staphylococcus aureus isolates among urban jail detainees.

In 928 Dallas County Jail detainees, nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus was found in 32.8% (26.5% methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus [MSSA] and 6.3% methicillin-resistant S. aureus [MRSA]), and hand carriage was found in 24.9% (20.7% MSSA and 4.1% MRSA). Among MRSA nasal carriers, 41% had hand MRSA carriage; 29% with hand MRSA carriage had no nasal S. aureus carriage. The prevalence of carriage was not associated with duration of the jail stay up to 180 days.

Comparison of an ESAT-6/CFP-10 peptide-based enzyme-linked immunospot assay to a tuberculin skin test for screening of a population at moderate risk of contracting tuberculosis.

Screening for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) with the Mantoux tuberculin skin test (TST) has many limitations including false-positive results due to Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination. Three hundred ninety adult inmates with normal screening chest radiographs in a county jail were evaluated for LTBI using TST and an ESAT-6/CFP-10 peptide-based enzyme-linked immunospot assay (T-SPOT.TB). LTBI prevalence rates were 19.0% and 8.5% by T-SPOT.TB and TST, respectively. Overall agreement between test results was 82.8% (kappa = 0.29). Positive T-SPOT.TB results were significantly associated with increased age (odds ratio [OR], 1.04; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01 to 1.06) and intravenous drug use history (OR, 2.92; 95% CI, 1.36 to 6.27). Positive TST results were significantly associated with increased age (OR, 1.06; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.09) and foreign birth (OR, 6.61; 95% CI, 1.98 to 22.01). Discordant covariates between the assay results included increased age (OR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.94 to 0.99) and intravenous drug use history (OR, 0.41; 95% CI, 0.19 to 0.88). T-SPOT.TB reactivity is unaffected by prior BCG vaccination. T-SPOT.TB may be more sensitive than TST in diagnosing LTBI among a moderate risk population of inmates, particularly those with intravenous drug use history. Longitudinal studies are needed to assess the positive predictive value of T-SPOT.TB in identifying those most likely to convert to active disease in general populations as well as in high-risk subpopulations.