Recommendations for the management of hepatitis C virus infection among people who inject drugs
Geert Robaeys, Jason Grebely, Stefan Mauss, Philip Bruggmann, Joseph Moussalli, Andrea De Gottardi, Tracy Swan, Amber Arain, Achim Kautz, Heino Stöver, Heiner Wedemeyer, Martin Schaefer, Lynn Taylor, Markus Backmund, Olav Dalgard, Maria Prins, Gregory J Dore
Clinical Infectious Diseases: An Official Publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America 2013, 57 Suppl 2: S129-37
23884061
In the developed world, the majority of new and existing hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections occur among people who inject drugs (PWID). The burden of HCV-related liver disease in this group is increasing, but treatment uptake among PWID remains low. Among PWID, there are a number of barriers to care that should be considered and systematically addressed, but these barriers should not exclude PWID from HCV treatment. Furthermore, it has been clearly demonstrated that HCV treatment is safe and effective across a broad range of multidisciplinary healthcare settings. Given the burden of HCV-related disease among PWID, strategies to enhance HCV assessment and treatment in this group are urgently needed. These recommendations demonstrate that treatment among PWID is feasible and provides a framework for HCV assessment, management, and treatment. Further research is needed to evaluate strategies to enhance assessment, adherence, and SVR among PWID, particularly as new treatments for HCV infection become available.
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