Hepatitis C
Antiviral treatment improves outcomes in patients with advanced cirrhosis
Hepatitis C drug shown to reduce the need for transplant and lower mortality rate in patients with advanced liver disease.
The effect of direct-acting antiviral agents for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has not been well established in patients with decompensated cirrhosis, an advanced form of the disease that usually requires transplantation or it can be fatal.
In a study presented at the Joint International Congress of ILTS, ELITA & LICAGE in Prague, Czech Republic[1] (26 May 2017), researchers compared 623 people who received sofosbuvir in randomised trials with 1,857 untreated controls from a liver transplant waiting list.
At 48 weeks, 95% of patients in the sofosbuvir group were alive and had not undergone transplant compared with 30% of controls. The liver transplant rate was only 3% in sofosbuvir patients compared with 43% among controls.
HCV treatment should be considered for patients with decompensated cirrhosis, the researchers conclude.
Citation: Clinical Pharmacist DOI: 10.1211/CP.2017.20203089
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