icon-folder.gif   Conference Reports for NATAP  
 
  DDW - Digestive Disease Week 2014
May 4, 2014, Chicago
Illinois, United States
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VA Patients Are Good Candidates for Early HCV Treatment
 
 
  Reported by Jules Levin
 
DDW 2014
 
In light of the new HCV Guidelines section recommending priotritizing treatment for advanced HCV disease
 
this study in the VA says:
 
Most people living with Hepatitis C in the VA have early stage chronic Hepatitis C, are treatment naïve, and therefore are good candidates for treatment.
 
and
 
We anticipate that novel all-oral therapies would drastically to improve health outcomes within the VA system. These therapies lead to substantially higher health benefits under the scenarios we tested
 
and
 
Several modeling studies have concluded that prospective identification of asymptomatic hepatitis C infection and subsequent treatment of all patients is a cost-effective use of health care resources
 
and
 
As the cohort of individuals with HCV ages, the consequences of their infections appear to be increasing. Data taken from a representative sample of veterans have demonstrated an increasing prevalence of chronic liver disease as this population ages. For example, the prevalence of cirrhosis among patients with HCV increased from 9.6% in 1996 to 18.5% in 2006. The prevalence of decompensated cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma also increased dramatically over those years, from 5% to 11% and from 0.07% to 1.3% respectively
 
Projected Health and Economic Impact of Hepatitis C on the United States Veterans Administration Health System From 2014 To 2024 - (05/13/14)

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