HOME
Hepatitis B
Hepatitis C
HIV and AIDS
HIV-HCV Coinfection
HIV-HBV Coinfection
HIV and Hepatitis.com Coverage of
DIGESTIVE DISEASE WEEK (DDW 2008)
May 17 - 22, 2008, San Diego, California

Active and Recovering Injection Drug Users Can Benefit from Hepatitis C Treatment if They Maintain Good Adherence

By Liz Highleyman

Because hepatitis C virus (HCV) can be transmitted via shared needles and other drug-injection equipment, a high proportion of active and former injection drug users (IDUs) have chronic hepatitis C.

Traditionally, some experts have felt that IDUs - particularly those who continue active drug use - are unsuitable for interferon-based therapy because they tend to be difficult to treat and have poor outcomes. Recent research, however, contradicts this belief, and National Institutes of Health (NIH) consensus guidelines state that IDUs, especially those on methadone maintenance or similar opiate substitution therapy, should not be routinely denied treatment.

As reported at the Digestive Disease Week 2008 conference last month in San Diego, Olga Anagnostou and colleagues evaluated hepatitis C treatment adherence and response rates among IDUs and investigated factors influencing outcomes.

The study included 104 IDUs with chronic hepatitis C who received combination therapy with conventional or pegylated interferon plus ribavirin between 2000 and 2007. Most (77) were men and the mean age was 37 years (range 19-58 years); 34 had HCV genotypes 1 or 4, while 57 had genotype 3. Seven had histological evidence of cirrhosis, but none had decompensated liver disease.

Among the participants, 45 (43.3%) were receiving maintenance opiate substitution treatment, 39 (37.5%) injected drugs in the past, and 20 (13%) continued active injection drug use.

Treatment adherence, end-of-treatment response (ETR), and sustained virological response (SVR) 24 weeks after completion of therapy were assessed and correlated with patient characteristics.

Results

• 30 of the 104 participants (28.8%) discontinued anti-HCV treatment prematurely, after a mean of 3 months.
• 13 participants (12.5%) discontinued therapy due to major side effects and 17 (16.3%) did so due to personal decision.
• By subgroup, 76% of past users, 65% of active users, and 60% of those on methadone maintenance completed anti-HCV therapy (a non-significant difference).
• Multivariate analysis including age, sex, active or past drug use, substitution treatment, HCV genotype, duration of therapy, and current alcohol consumption did not reveal any significant association with adherence.
• Among the 74 patients who completed interferon-based therapy, 47 (64.4%) achieved SVR, while another 13 (17.6%) experienced ETR with subsequent viral relapse.
• There was no significant difference in SVR rates between past users (57.9%), active users (71.4%), and individuals on methadone maintenance (71.4%).
• In a multivariate analysis, younger age and male sex were associated with SVR.

"Our data clearly suggest that, as long as [IDU] patients with chronic hepatitis C keep adherent, chronic hepatitis C therapy is effective," the investigators concluded.

"Active drug users and patients on substitution maintenance treatment do not differ from past users in terms of SVR and compliance to hepatitis C treatment," they continued. "SVR in those patients is similar [to] that expected in the general chronic hepatitis C population."

Therefore, the researchers recommended, "[IDUs] with chronic hepatitis C infection -- especially when they are on substitution treatment -- should not be excluded from treatment."

6/10/08

Reference
O Anagnostou, S Manolakopoulos, M Deutsch, and others. Drug Users with chronic hepatitis C who are adherent to antiviral treatment will finally benefit from therapy. Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2008. San Diego, CA. May 17-22, 2008. Abstract S1013.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



















 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


HIV-HBV
Coinfection Section