| Summary: | Introduction and Objectives: Hepatitis caused by the C virus (HCV) is a public health problem whose greatest challenge is access to diagnosis and treatment. The population deprived of liberty is considered a priority for approaches involving the disease. This study aimed to identify the prevalence of HCV among patients tested in prisons in Porto Alegre, Brazil and describe the diagnosed profile of the patients. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach. Through the “test and treat” project, rapid testing for HCV and the treatment of diagnosed cases were carried out, providing specific pharmacotherapy, without face-to-face specialist medical consult, within 30 days in 5 prisons in Porto Alegre. Results: 1272 tests were performed with a prevalence of 2.04% of HCV (table 1).The ''test and treat'' also welcomed patients diagnosed at the entrance door of prisons providing treatment for the disease, totaling 44 patients diagnosed in these prisons. With the exception of 3 patients with non-reactive viral load, 24.4% of patients have already completed treatment, 36.6% of patients are currently undergoing treatment, 22% are awaiting test results or a change of antiretroviral regimen for HIV and 17.1 % went free from prison. As for the profile of patients, 81.8% are male. The age group with the highest prevalence of patients is 41 to 50 years old (33.3%). Regarding race/color, 41.9% of patients are black and 58.1% are white. Regarding drug use, 50% of patients reported using or had used injectable, inhaled substances and/or crack. The patient's APRI score was 0.6 (F0-F1) and FIB-4 was 1.28 (F0-F1). Conclusions: This is an innovative action for the Population Deprived of Liberty, as it is the first time that patients with HCV have been treated in municipal prisons because of the particularities of the prison system. Funding: This work was supported by an unrestricted grant provided by Gilead Sciences Brazil.
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