Effects of a multidisciplinary approach on the effectiveness of antiviral treatment for chronic hepatitis C
Journal Title: Annals of Hepatology - Year 2016, Vol 15, Issue 4
Abstract
Background. Despite the introduction of direct antiviral agents, pegylated interferon remains the mainstay of treatment for chronic hepatitis C. However, pegylated interferon is associated with a high rate of severe adverse events and decreased quality of life. Specific interventions can improve adherence and effectiveness. We aimed to determine whether implementing a multidisciplinary approach improved outcomes in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. Material and methods. We analyzed consecutive patients treated with pegylated interferon plus ribavirin between August 2001 and December 2011. We compared patients treated before and after the implementation of a multidisciplinary approach in 2007. We compared the baseline demographic and clinical characteristics and laboratory findings between groups, and used bivariate logistic regression models to detect factors involved in attaining a sustained virological response, calculating the odds ratios with their respective 95% confidence intervals. To evaluate the effect of the multidisciplinary team, we fitted a multivariate logistic regression model to compare the sustained virological response after adjusting for unbalanced variables and predictive factors. Results. We included 514 patients [228 (44.4%) in the pre-intervention cohort]. Age, viral genotype, previous treatment, aspartate transaminase, ferritin, and triglyceride were prognostic factors of sustained virological response. After adjusting for prognostic factors, sustained virological response was higher in the multidisciplinary cohort (58 vs. 48%, p = 0.038). Despite higher psychiatric comorbidity and age in the multidisciplinary cohort, we observed a trend toward a lower rate of treatment abandonment in this group (2.2 vs. 4.9%, p = 0.107). Conclusion. Multidisciplinary management of chronichepatitis C improves outcomes.
Authors and Affiliations
Marta Gallach, Mercedes Vergara, Mireia Miquel, Meritxell Casas, Jordi Sánchez-Delgado, Blai Dalmau, Montserrat Gil, Núria Rudi, Isabel Parra, Maria López, Angelina Dosal, Laura Moreno, Oliver Valero, Xavier Calvet
Keywords
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- EP ID EP78596
- DOI 10.5604/16652681.1202941
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