Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36970063›Full record

ArticleJournal of virus eradication2023

Combining treatment for chronic hepatitis C with opioid agonist therapy is an effective microelimination strategy for people who inject drugs with high risk of non-adherence to direct-acting antiviral therapy.

M Schwarz, C Schwarz, A Schütz, C Schwanke, E Krabb, R Schubert, S-T Liebich, D Bauer, L Burghart, L Brinkmann and 4 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of virus eradication, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
1.0field-weighted citation impact, top 25% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. A systematic PCR record-based re-call of HCV-RNA-positive people enables re-linkage to care and HCV elimination in Austria - The ELIMINATE project.Liver international : official journal of the International Association for the Study of the Liver · 2024
    Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

M SchwarzKlinik Ottakring, Department of Internal Medicine IV, Vienna, Austria.
C SchwarzKlinik Ottakring, Department of Internal Medicine IV, Vienna, Austria.
A SchützSuchthilfe Wien gGmbH, Ambulatorium Suchthilfe Wien, Vienna, Austria.
C SchwankeSuchthilfe Wien gGmbH, Ambulatorium Suchthilfe Wien, Vienna, Austria.
E KrabbSuchthilfe Wien gGmbH, Ambulatorium Suchthilfe Wien, Vienna, Austria.
R SchubertSuchthilfe Wien gGmbH, Ambulatorium Suchthilfe Wien, Vienna, Austria.
S-T LiebichSuchthilfe Wien gGmbH, Ambulatorium Suchthilfe Wien, Vienna, Austria.
D BauerKlinik Ottakring, Department of Internal Medicine IV, Vienna, Austria.
L BurghartKlinik Ottakring, Department of Internal Medicine IV, Vienna, Austria.
L BrinkmannKlinik Ottakring, Department of Internal Medicine IV, Vienna, Austria.
E GuticKlinik Ottakring, Department of Internal Medicine IV, Vienna, Austria.
T ReibergerMedical University of Vienna, Department of Internal Medicine III, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Vienna, Austria.
H HaltmayerSuchthilfe Wien gGmbH, Ambulatorium Suchthilfe Wien, Vienna, Austria.
M GschwantlerKlinik Ottakring, Department of Internal Medicine IV, Vienna, Austria.
Austrian Breast & Colorectal Cancer Study Group · ATSigmund Freud Privatuniversität Wien · AT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background & aims: Despite effective direct-acting antivirals (DAAs), hepatitis C virus (HCV) prevalence is high among people who inject drugs (PWIDs) and non-adherence to therapy remains a major obstacle towards HCV elimination in this subpopulation. To overcome this issue, we have combined ongoing opioid agonist therapy (OAT) with DAAs in a directly-observed therapy (DOT) setting. Method: From September 2014 until January 2021 PWIDs at high risk of non-adherence to DAA therapy, who were also on OAT, were included into this microelimination project. Individuals received their OAT and DAAs under supervision of healthcare workers as DOT in a pharmacy or low-threshold facility. Results: In total, 504 HCV RNA-positive PWIDs on OAT (387 men, 76.8%; median age: 38 years [IQR 33-45], HIV: 4.6%; hepatitis B: 1.4%) were included into this study. Two thirds reported ongoing intravenous drug use (IDU) and half of them had no permanent housing. Only 41 (8.1%) were lost to follow-up and two (0.4%) died of reasons unrelated to DAA toxicity. Overall, 90.7% of PWIDs achieved sustained virological response 12 weeks after treatment (SVR12) (95% CI: 88.1-93.2%). By excluding those lost to follow-up and hose who had died of causes unrelated to DAAs, the SVR12 rate was 99.1% (95% CI: 98.3-100.0%; modified intention-to-treat analysis). Four PWIDs (0.9%) experienced treatment failure. Over a median follow-up of 24 weeks (IQR 12-39), 27 reinfections (5.9%) were observed in individuals with the highest IDU rates (81.2%). Importantly, even though some were lost to follow-up, all completed their DAA treatment. By using DOT, adherence to DAAs was excellent with only a total of 86 missed doses (0.3% of 25,224 doses). Conclusions: In this difficult-to-treat population of PWIDs with high rates of IDU , coupling DAA treatment to OAT in a DOT setting resulted in high SVR12 rates equivalent to conventional treatment settings in non-PWID populations.

Indexed as

Directly observed therapyDrug useHCVHepatitisOpioidPWID

Identifiers

PMID36970063
PMCPMC10036924
OpenAlexW4322754115

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.