1. Comparing Treatment Response Between Older and Younger Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection on Direct-acting Antiviral Agents.
- Author
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Francis AK, Beaudoin FL, Naidjate SS, Berard-Collins C, and Zullo AR
- Subjects
- Adult, Age Factors, Aged, Comorbidity, Cost of Illness, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Retrospective Studies, Rhode Island, Sustained Virologic Response, Treatment Outcome, Antiviral Agents therapeutic use, Hepatitis C, Chronic drug therapy
- Abstract
Objective: To compare sustained virologic response 12 weeks post-treatment completion (SVR12) and patient characteristics for older versus younger patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection (HCV) receiving direct-acting antiviral (DAA) agent therapy., Methods: This retrospective cohort study included patients with chronic HCV who received DAA therapy, between 2015 and 2018, in the largest health system in Rhode Island (N=154). Patient characteristics, comorbid diagnoses, and SVR12 status were compared between older (aged ≥60 years) and younger (<60 years) adults using chi-squared tests., Results: Overall, 94.1% (95% CI: 90.4-97.8) achieved SVR12; response rates were 91.8% (95% CI: 84.9-98.6) for older adults and 95.6% (95% CI: 91.5-99.8) for younger adults (p=0.51)., Conclusions: Our findings refute the historical notion that older adults were a "difficult-to-treat" subpopulation for whom clinicians should expect less treatment success. This is no longer the case with DAA therapy.
- Published
- 2020