Open AccessInterferon‐free antiviral treatment of chronic hepatitis C in the transplant setting
Author(s) -
Beinhardt Sandra,
PeckRadosavljevic Markus,
Hofer Harald,
Ferenci Peter
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
transplant international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.998
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1432-2277
pISSN - 0934-0874
DOI - 10.1111/tri.12577
Subject(s) - medicine , interferon , chronic hepatitis , hepatitis c , interferon alfa , virology , immunology , alpha interferon , intensive care medicine , virus
Summary Interferon‐based regimens with first‐generation protease inhibitors have a limited efficacy and an unfavorable safety profile. Combination therapies with two or more second‐generation direct‐acting antivirals plus/minus ribavirin revolutionized treatment strategies in patients chronically infected with hepatitis C virus. In this rapidly evolving era, patients in the transplant setting benefit from interferon‐free treatment regimens. Scientific societies can barely keep up with this development, making it necessary to update the clinical guidelines by the American and European Associations for the Study of Liver Diseases within short periods. This review presents and discusses the currently available data of the use of interferon‐free treatment in the setting of liver transplantation. However, costs, different reimbursement strategies, and health‐care options cannot be answered by guidelines and recommendations from scientific societies. Further investigator‐initiated trials are needed to individualize treatment concepts.