Evaluation of the Surveillance System for Acute Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C in a Hospital in Phuket Province, 2024
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59096/wesr.v57i7.7476Keywords:
Surveillance system evaluation, acute hepatitis B and C, Phuket ProvinceAbstract
Introduction: In 2024, the Division of Epidemiology (DOE), Department of Disease Control, initiated the Digital Disease Surveillance (DDS) system. The findings indicated that Phuket Province had the highest incidence rates of acute hepatitis B and acute hepatitis C. The incidence rate of acute hepatitis B was 223.56 per 100,000 population, while the incidence rate of acute hepatitis C was 86.69 per 100,000 population. However, the DDS system still has limitations in disease reporting and is unable to accurately and clearly reflect the overall disease burden. Therefore, evaluating the surveillance system for acute hepatitis B and acute hepatitis C will help determine its accuracy, completeness, and timeliness, and provide a disease situation that more closely reflects the actual occurrence of the diseases.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted through a review of medical records of patients who received services at Vachira Phuket Hospital from 1 October to 31 December 2024. Medical records were selected using stratified sampling based on ICD-10 codes. Case definitions from the DOE, as well as physicians’ diagnoses, were applied to evaluate quantitative attributes. In addition, interviews with relevant personnel were conducted to assess qualitative attributes of the surveillance system.
Results: A total of 573 medical records of patients with acute hepatitis B identified by ICD-10 codes were reviewed. Among these, 13 cases were reported to the DDS system, resulting in a sensitivity of 92.86% and a positive predictive value (PPV) of 4.39%. For acute hepatitis C, 557 medical records were reviewed, and 5 cases were reported to the DDS system, yielding a sensitivity of 100% and a PPV of 5.10%. Data completeness for the variables of sex, age, address, and occupation was 100%. The timeliness of reporting was also 100%, with a median reporting time of 3 days. Most personnel reported that the disease reporting process was simple, were willing to adapt to the new guidelines, and utilized surveillance data for their work.
Conclusion and Discussion: The surveillance system for acute hepatitis B and C at Vachira Phuket Hospital demonstrated high sensitivity but low positive predictive value. Issues were identified regarding retrospective reporting and changes in disease coding from chronic hepatitis B and C to acute hepatitis when reporting cases to the DDS system. Therefore, responsible staff should review disease definitions and verify patient data for acute and chronic hepatitis before data submission. In addition, ICD-10 coding should be reviewed to ensure consistency with physicians’ diagnoses.
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