Direct Acting Antivirals

Declines in serum hepatitis B virus RNA at the first and second year of treatment with nucleos(t)ide analogues correlated with risk for hepatocellular carcinoma and may serve as independent predictors of cancer development.

The FDA’s recent authorization of a rapid, point-of-care test to diagnose current hepatitis C virus infection is a major victory, but it would be malpractice to initiate same-day HCV treatment if a patient’s hepatitis B virus status is unknown.

Treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus with direct-acting antivirals improved liver-related morbidity and survival, regardless of hepatocellular carcinoma, although patients aged older than 60 years should be monitored, a presenter noted.

Facilitated telemedicine integrated into opioid treatment programs for patients with hepatitis C virus infection resulted in “substantially higher” cure rates compared with offsite referral to a hepatitis specialist, according to a study.

Hepatitis C primary infection and reinfection incidences declined after the introduction of access to direct-acting antiviral hepatitis C treatments, researchers found.

BOSTON — Treatment of hepatitis C virus infection in low- and middle-income countries is key to global elimination efforts, according to an abstract presented at The Liver Meeting.

Alcohol use at initiation of direct-acting antiviral treatment was not associated with reduced odds for achieving sustained virologic response among veterans with chronic hepatitis C virus infection, according to data in JAMA Network Open.

Direct-acting antiviral treatment significantly lowered the risk for mortality and liver and non-liver outcomes in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection, regardless of disease stage, researchers reported.

Less than two-thirds of insured patients with viremic hepatitis C virus infection received treatment with direct-acting antivirals from 2014 to 2021, with a sharp decline in diagnoses and treatment reported during the COVID-19 pandemic.

WASHINGTON — Vosevi, a triple-combination therapy for chronic hepatitis C virus infection, was effective when used as a rescue treatment in patients who did not achieve sustained virologic response with direct-acting antiviral agents.