Low Rates of Linkage and Retention Into Care Among Patients With Chronic HBV Infection.

Successful linkage and retention of newly diagnosed hepatitis B virus (HBV) patients is critical for disease monitoring. Existing studies have demonstrated significant gaps in the HBV care continuum among U.S. veterans1 and have mostly focused on adherence to laboratory testing or initial linkage. However, retention is especially important, given that decisions to start antiviral therapies are often not made until subsequent evaluation, and studies report high rates of becoming treatment-eligible among patients who were not eligible at initial evaluation.2 Given the existing system and socioeconomic barriers in access to care, understanding contributors to gaps and delays in HBV linkage and retention among safety-net populations is critical. We aim to evaluate prevalence and predictors of linkage and retention among HBV patients at an urban safety-net hospital.