France removes hepatitis C treatment prescriber restrictions-But what is the impact of the delay for key populations?

Real-world economic burden of hepatitis C and impact of direct-acting antivirals in France: A nationwide claims data analysis

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

The economic impact of managing patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection remains unknown. This study aimed to assess the economic burden of chronic HCV infection from a national health insurance perspective and the impact of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) using nationwide real-world data.

METHODS

Patients with chronic HCV infection were identified from the French Health Insurance Claims Databases (SNDS) and matched for age and sex to the general population. Health resource utilization and reimbursements were summarized according to healthcare expenditure items from 2012 to 2021. The economic burden attributable to chronic HCV infection was evaluated over a 10-year period. Finally, the impact of DAAs was estimated using economic data derived from the SNDS.

RESULTS

A total of 145 187 patients with chronic HCV infection were identified. Among the patients eligible for DAA therapy, 81.5% had received DAA by the end of 2021. Over a 10-year period, managing patients with chronic HCV infection resulted in an additional cost of €9.71 billion (95% confidence interval [CI]: €9.66-€9.78 billion) or €9191 (95% CI: €9134-€9252) per patient per year compared to the general population. After DAA therapy, patients with chronic HCV infection had a higher economic burden than the general population, with an additional cost of €5781 (95% CI: €5540-€6028) per patient at the fifth-year post-DAA therapy.

CONCLUSIONS

A significant economic burden persists among patients with HCV infection after DAA treatment. The high proportion of patients not treated with DAA therapy supports reinforcing policies for universal access.

Non-disclosure of drug injection practices as a barrier to HCV testing: results from the PrebupIV community-based research study

BACKGROUND

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection prevalence is particularly high in people who inject drugs (PWID), a population that faces many barriers to HCV testing and care. A better understanding of the determinants of access to HCV testing is needed to improve their engagement in the HCV care cascade. We used data from a cross-sectional survey of people who inject drugs, mainly opioids, to identify factors associated with recent HCV testing.

METHODS

Self-reported data on HCV antibody testing were analyzed for 550 of the 557 PWID enrolled in PrebupIV, a French cross-sectional community-based survey which assessed PWID acceptability of injectable buprenorphine as a treatment. Factors associated with recent (i.e., in the previous six months) HCV antibody testing were identified performing multivariable logistic regression.

RESULTS

Among the study sample, 79% were men and 31% reported recent HCV antibody testing. Multivariable analysis found that PWID who did not disclose their injection practices to anyone (aOR [95% CI] 0.31 [0.12,0.82], p = 0.018), older PWID (aOR [95% CI] 0.97 [0.95,1.00], p = 0.030) and employed respondents (aOR [95% CI] 0.58 [0.37,0.92], p = 0.019) were all less likely to report recent HCV testing. No association was found between opioid agonist therapy and HCV testing.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that non-disclosure of injection practices, employment and age were all barriers to HCV antibody testing. Preventing stigma around injection practices, developing the HCV testing offer in primary care and addiction care services, and training healthcare providers in HCV care management could improve HCV testing and therefore, the HCV care cascade in PWID.

Adherence to opioid agonist therapy predicts uptake of direct-acting antivirals in people who use drugs: results from the French national healthcare database (the ANRS FANTASIO study)

Background

Opioid agonist therapy (OAT) is associated with reduced injection, reduced HCV transmission, and more opportunities to initiate hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment in people who use drugs (PWUD). We aimed to study the extent to which adherence to OAT was predictive of increased uptake of direct-acting antivirals (DAA) in PWUD with chronic HCV infection.

Methods

Using the French national healthcare system database, we targeted PWUD (i.e. with a history of OAT) who had chronic HCV infection and were eligible for DAA during 2014–2016. Adherence to OAT was computed as a time-varying variable expressing the proportion of days covered by OAT receipt, over any six-month interval before DAA receipt. We used a Cox proportional hazards model to estimate the association between adherence to OAT and the rate of DAA uptake after adjustment for age, sex, alcohol use disorder, socioeconomic status, and liver disease severity.

Results

Among the 22,615 persons included in the ANRS FANTASIO study, 3438 (15.2%) initiated DAA during the study period. After multivariable adjustment, adherence to OAT was associated with a higher rate of DAA initiation. However, this association was not linear, and only individuals on OAT for 20% or more of the time in the previous six-month period had a higher rate of DAA initiation (adjusted hazard ratio [95% confidence interval]: 1.28 [1.18–1.38]). Other variables associated with DAA initiation were male sex, older age, cirrhosis or liver cancer, and higher socioeconomic status.

Conclusions

Adherence to OAT is a major predictor of DAA initiation in PWUD living with chronic HCV infection in France. Our results also suggest that even moderate adherence to OAT can facilitate DAA uptake. Adequate HCV training for OAT prescribers together with interventions to ensure adherence to OAT will help improve DAA initiation rates and reach HCV elimination goals.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12954-022-00702-9.