Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on routine surveillance for adults with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in the UK.

Background and aims: To determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the population with chronic Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection under hospital follow-up in the UK, we quantified the coverage and frequency of measurements of biomarkers used for routine surveillance (ALT and HBV viral load). Methods: We used anonymised electronic health record data from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Informatics Collaborative (HIC) pipeline representing five UK NHS Trusts. Results: We report significant reductions in surveillance of both biomarkers during the pandemic compared to pre-COVID years, both in terms of the proportion of patients who had ≥1 measurement annually, and the mean number of measurements per patient. Conclusions: Further investigation is required to determine whether these disruptions will be associated with increased rates of adverse chronic HBV outcomes.