VIDEO: Reduce HCV reinfection in drug users with strategic care

WASHINGTON — In this exclusive video from The Liver Meeting 2017, Gregory J. Dore, MBBS, PhD, FRACP, MPH, from the Kirby Institute at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, provides a perspective on reinfection of hepatitis C among injection drug users.

“It’s important to approach reinfection as a clinical scenario that needs to be addressed in terms of clinical management, to offer that person advice in terms of improving their harm reduction strategy, to reduce their risk of further reinfection, but to offer them retreatment discrimination,” he told Healio Gastroenterology and Liver Disease.

Dore provided three ways to manage and reduce HCV reinfection among high-risk drug users: acknowledge that there will be some cases of reinfection; have a strategy to improve harm reduction and offer to screen the patient’s injecting partners and sexual partners.

“When we approach people who become reinfected, it’s important not to increase the stigma and discrimination that they almost certainly already have,” Dore said. “A lot of drug users do feel a sense of shame about their ongoing drug use, and as a health care worker, I think the worst thing we can do is to heighten that sense of shame and guilt.” – by Talitha Bennett

Reference:

Dore GJ, et al. Abstract 195. Presented at: The Liver Meeting; Oct. 20-24, 2017; Washington, D.C.

Disclosure: Dore reports he is a board member of and received grants or research support and speaking and teaching fees from AbbVie, Bristol-MyersSquibb, Gilead and Merck.