Letter: new treatments for hepatitis C have implications for quality of life in people who inject drugs

Higgs, Peter; Wright, Cassandra J. C.; Hellard, Margaret

doi:10.1111/apt.13538

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 6 publications

(7 reference statements)

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“…These PROs were chosen to capture a range of burdensome symptoms; however it would be interesting to explore positive patient experiences after being cured of HCV, that are not captured by these surveys (eg, positive growth, psychological freedom, happiness) that are not just the absence of symptoms, but altogether different human experiences. Future studies might evaluate the responsiveness of the PRO measures over time and in other patient subpopulations who might have worse symptomatology (eg, patients with certain sociodemographic characteristics or those with alcohol, drug use and mental health issues) …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychometric properties of the PROMIS short form measures in a U.S. cohort of 961 patients with chronic hepatitis C prescribed direct acting antiviral therapy

Evon

Amador

Stewart

et al. 2018

Aliment Pharmacol Ther

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Summary Background To better understand symptoms experienced by patients infected with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV), valid and reliable patient‐reported outcome (PRO) measures are needed. Aim To assess the reliability and validity of 10 patient‐reported outcomes measurement information system (PROMIS) measures and the Headache Impact Test‐6 (HIT‐6) in a large national sample of patients with HCV. Methods Pre‐treatment data from 961 patients with HCV starting direct acting antiviral therapy at 11 U.S. liver centers were analyzed. Internal reliability was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha coefficient; frequency distributions were examined for floor and ceiling effects; structural validity was investigated via item‐response‐theory models; convergent validity was evaluated using correlations with theoretically‐similar items from the HCV‐PRO and memorial symptom assessment scale (MSAS); and known‐groups validity was investigated by observing PRO differences by liver disease status and number of comorbidities. Results The HIT‐6 and the majority of the PROMIS measures yielded excellent reliability (alphas ≥ 0.87). Ceiling effects were infrequent ( < 4%), while 30%‐59% of patients reported no symptoms (floor effects). The data supported structural validity of the HIT‐6 and most PROMIS measures. The PROMIS measures showed moderate to strong correlations with theoretically‐similar items from the HCV‐PRO and MSAS (0.39‐0.77). Trends were observed between worse PRO scores and advanced cirrhosis and greater number of comorbidities, lending support for known‐groups validity. Conclusions The psychometric properties of the HIT‐6 and PROMIS measures performed satisfactorily in this large cohort of patients with HCV starting direct acting antiviral therapy. Opportunities exist for further refinement of these PROs. Evaluation of performance over time and in under‐represented subgroups is needed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychometric properties of the PROMIS short form measures in a U.S. cohort of 961 patients with chronic hepatitis C prescribed direct acting antiviral therapy

Evon

Amador

Stewart

et al. 2018

Aliment Pharmacol Ther

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“…This study confirms a need for nursing interventions which monitor and track HRQL over time among Aboriginal people who inject drugs with chronic HCV. Even with the advent of interferon-free all-oral HCV treatments, psychosocial and socioeconomic factors will likely continue to be a significant barrier to treatment uptake for people who inject drugs (Higgs, Wright, & Hellard, 2016). We argue that there is a need for nursing led and focused HCV interventions which could improve the physical and mental HRQL for Aboriginal Australians.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 93%

Aboriginal people with chronic HCV: The role of community health nurses for improving health-related quality of life

2020

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Introduction: There is a lack of knowledge about Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQL) of Aboriginal Australians with self-reported hepatitis C infection in Western Australia. This marginalised group of people is disproportionally affected by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) for which there is no preventative vaccine. This study provides data that help understand the long-term consequences of living with HCV infection within the Aboriginal community. It outlines opportunities for nursing interventions for hepatitis care that focus on supporting mental health and drug and alcohol issues within this population. Methods: We surveyed 123 Aboriginal people living with HCV in a community setting. Survey data included demographics, drug use history, length of time since diagnosis, changes in lifestyle since diagnosis, fatigue, social support, alcohol consumption, and physical and mental health measures. Results: Most participants reported amphetamine injecting frequently in the last six months and their duration of injecting drug ranged from 8 to more than 11 years. Additionally, half of the participants were classified as high-risk alcohol users. Overall 52% of participants were in poor physical and 60% of participants were in poor mental health. Discussion: This survey of Aboriginal people with self-reported hepatitis C infection indicates substantial problems of mental and physical comorbidities among this population. Conclusion: There is a need for the development of HCV community clinics in Aboriginal health care settings with trained Aboriginal community health nurses to reduce problematic alcohol consumption, assess liver health and subsequently provide HCV treatment in a culturally appropriate way.

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“…SIRS, We appreciate the input from Higgs et al 1 about the importance of studying the people who inject drugs (PWID) in the context of comprehensive benefits of treatment with direct-acting anti-virals (DAA)-based regimens for HCV. 2 We have to note that this population, although very important, have been excluded in most phase 3 clinical trials.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The authors' declarations of personal and financial interests are unchanged from those in the original article 2. SIRS, Although direct-acting anti-viral agents (DAAs) are revolutionising the treatment of chronic hepatitis C,[1][2][3][4][5] interferon-a plus ribavirin remains the standard of care in China. 4-6 Recently, we read with interest the elegant study of Lai et al 7 on the sofosbuvir plus ribavirin for the treatment of Hong Kong treatment-naive patients, and would like to express our appreciation for this first report focused on Chinese population.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Letter: new treatments for hepatitis C have implications for quality of life in people who inject drug – authors' reply

Stepanova

Younossi

2016

Aliment Pharmacol Ther

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Letter: new treatments for hepatitis C have implications for quality of life in people who inject drugs

Cited by 6 publications

References 6 publications

Psychometric properties of the PROMIS short form measures in a U.S. cohort of 961 patients with chronic hepatitis C prescribed direct acting antiviral therapy

Psychometric properties of the PROMIS short form measures in a U.S. cohort of 961 patients with chronic hepatitis C prescribed direct acting antiviral therapy

Aboriginal people with chronic HCV: The role of community health nurses for improving health-related quality of life

Letter: new treatments for hepatitis C have implications for quality of life in people who inject drug – authors' reply

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