Registry-based HCV Care Cascade Navigation at Atlanta's Grady Memorial Hospital (EZ-C)

May 18, 2022 updated by: Dr. David Rein, National Opinion Research Center

A Randomized Study of the Effectiveness of Patient Registry Directed Patient Navigation in Improving Attainment of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Care Among Patients Using Opioid Substitution Therapy and Patients Who Currently Inject Drugs

This study seeks to implement and evaluate a data-driven case navigation system for hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment among persons who are either actively injecting drugs or who are receiving opioid substitution therapy (OST). The study will use data from a previously developed patient registry system to identify patients for study recruitment, and use monthly updates of registry data to organize and direct patient navigation services for those individuals assigned to the treatment group. Patients assigned to the control group will also be eligible to receive HCV treatment, but will otherwise receive usual care.

This study has a parallel, randomized unblinded, case/control design in which eligible patients are assigned at baseline to either a registry-directed patient navigation system (case) or to usual care (control), characterized in terms of demographic and sub-population variables, and then compared after 12 months on two categories of outcomes; (1) attainment of care cascade milestones; and (2) treatment initiation, adherence, and virologic response. The study is designed and powered to answer two primary hypotheses (H1 & H2):

  • H1: As compared to those randomized to usual care (control), those randomized to the registry directed patient navigation arm (case) will be more likely to complete all pretreatment HCV care milestones as defined by a higher proportion completing all four pre-treatment care cascade outcomes.
  • H2: As compared to the control group, a significantly higher proportion of those randomized to the case group will achieve a sustained viral response.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Terminated

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

EZ-C's purpose is to determine the effectiveness of patient navigation services during treatment of hepatitis C compared to usual care among opioid substitution therapy (OST) and active injecting drug use (IDU) individuals.

To recruit OST and active IDU patients, customized queries will be created to identify pharmaceutical (methadone, buprenorphine, buprenorphine/naltrexone, naloxone) and diagnostic (ICD-10 codes for heroin poisoning, history of heroin abuse, long term current use of opiate analgesic, opioid dependence, and potentially others) indicators of OST or active injecting drug use. These codes will be implemented into the Grady HCV registry to flag and identify OST or possible active injecting drug use individuals that are HCV positive at Grady Health Systems.

Recruitment will consist of an initial letter describing the study and informing patients of their possible eligibility as well as informed consent documentation. This letter will be followed by up to three phone calls per patient from the patient navigator until a full sample of OST and active injecting drug users have been recruited. Once enrolled, patients will be randomly assigned into either the control or intervention group. Although there is no compensation for participating in the study, all patients that are recruited will receive treatment at no cost.

Once the study begins enrolling, the researchers will create spreadsheet reports of patients in the intervention group (those who are receiving patient navigation services) containing their HCV care information, such as antibody results, viral load test results and prescription refill information. Based on this spreadsheet, the researchers will develop a monthly task list for the patient navigator with patient by patient care cascade and treatment milestones that need to be accomplished per patient in the intervention group. The researchers will then deliver the spreadsheet and the task list to the Grady Liver Clinic Director who will use it to direct and supervise the activities of the patient navigator. The patient navigator will actively engage with those in the intervention group throughout the study and send reminders of their next steps in the treatment process/care cascade. The patient navigator will not engage with those in the control group as they will receive only usual care.

The intervention will last 12 months for each patient in both the case and control groups. After collecting data for the 80 patients at the end of the study, the researchers will analyze the data to determine the effectiveness of patient navigation services compared to those receiving usual care among IDU and OST individuals.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
6

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Georgia
      • Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 30315
        • Grady Health System

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

14 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Patient is antibody positivity for HCV, defined as;

    • Patients identified in the Grady Memorial Hospital Hepatitis C registry who have tested antibody positive for HCV and have not received additional RNA confirmatory or genotype testing; or
    • Patients who tested antibody positive for HCV through Grady Liver Clinics allied community-based testing organizations.

  2. Patient is a member of one of two sub-population groups of interest, people on opioid substitution therapy (OST) or people who currently inject drugs, defined as;

    • A pharmaceutical or diagnostic indicator of OST or morbidity resulting from injecting drug use identified in the patient's electronic health record (EHR), or
    • Referral for HCV care from an Atlanta area syringe exchange program

  3. Eligible for treatment. To be eligible for treatment, patients must

    • Meet the above criteria,
    • Complete care milestones of viral load/RNA confirmation, viral genotyping, clinical evaluation, and non-invasive fibrosis stages;
    • Exhibit a detectable viral load, and an HCV genotypes of 1 or 4
    • Note: Enrolled patients infected with genotypes other than 1 or 4 will be treated according to usual care practices of the Grady Liver Clinic.

Exclusion criteria. Patients who meet criteria 1 and 2 will be excluded from the study if

  • They have already received confirmatory RNA or genotype testing
  • Have been offered treatment by the Grady Liver Clinic and refused
  • Have a comorbidity that the Grady Liver Clinic determines would contraindicate treatment

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Data-assisted Case Navigation
Patients are recruited and consented into the study by the patient navigator after which the navigator provides assistance with scheduling, reminders, and transportation. The navigator is also charged with responding to patient questions, and monitoring and documenting if and when patients achieve HCV care milestones. Each month, the project will update the Grady Liver Clinic HCV patient registry, to generate information about the patient's HCV care progress and use this information to develop instructions sheets regarding the expected care milestones to be achieved that month for each patient. During the month, the navigator will participate in project meetings and report on milestone achievement and barriers for patients assigned to the experimental arm of the study.
Behavioral: Data-assisted Case Navigation

The researchers will develop a monthly task list for the patient navigator with patient by patient care cascade and treatment milestones that need to be accomplished per patient in the case group. The researchers will deliver the spreadsheet and the task list to the Grady Liver Clinic Director who will use it to direct and supervise the activities of the patient navigator.

Patient navigators will be responsible for reaching out to patients in only the intervention arm about their next step in the HCV care cascade.
Active Comparator: Standard of Care
Patients are recruited and consented into the study by the patient navigator at which time they will be reminded of their infection, consequences of untreated disease, and the availability of study sponsored antiviral treatment should they seek it. Patients will not be subsequently contacted by the study. Patients who seek treatment without patient navigation services will receive the same study provided HCV pre-treatment care and study provided treatment drugs when indicated. Self-referral to care and antiviral therapy when indicated are known to be effective in curing HCV among some patients, this arm is classified as an active comparator.
Behavioral: Standard of Care
Patients will be recruited into the study by the patient navigator, be provided information about HCV infection, and will be informed that treatment is freely available should they seek it. Patients will also be provided contact and address information for the treatment clinic.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Completion of HCV care milestones in HCV cure cascade
Time Frame: Within 6 months of enrollment
Variable indicating which step in the cure cascade patient last completed
Within 6 months of enrollment

Other Outcome Measures

Other Outcome Measures

For clinical trials, a planned measurement described in the protocol that is used to determine the effect of an intervention/treatment on participants. For observational studies, a measurement or observation that is used to describe patterns of diseases or traits, or associations with exposures, risk factors, or treatment. Types of outcome measures include primary outcome measure and secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Achievement of HCV sustained viral response (SVR)
Time Frame: Within 12 months of enrollment
Dichotomous (yes/no) variable of achieving SVR
Within 12 months of enrollment

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
National Opinion Research Center

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC
Emory University
Grady Health System

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: David Rein, Ph.D., NORC at the University of Chicago

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
July 23, 2018

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 15, 2018

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
February 15, 2019

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
February 9, 2018

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 20, 2018

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
February 22, 2018

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
May 25, 2022

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 18, 2022

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
May 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 8223

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

No

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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