Davis Maya I, Chute Donald F, Chung Raymond T, Sise Meghan E
Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Gastrointestinal Unit, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Semin Dial. 2018 Jan;31(1):26-36. doi: 10.1111/sdi.12650. Epub 2017 Sep 18.
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, a major cause of end-stage liver disease, is a common comorbidity in patients on dialysis and causes increased morbidity and mortality. Historically HCV has been extremely difficult to cure with interferon and ribavirin-based therapies, which are also associated with significant side effects, and few dialysis patients ever received HCV treatment. However, in the last 4 years, interferon-free direct-acting antiviral therapies have been approved, and several combinations have been studied in dialysis patients. A recently approved, pan-genotypic, direct-acting antiviral regimen, glecaprevir and pibrentasvir, may simplify prescribing. The simplicity of these new therapies, with few side effects, makes it possible for nephrologists to treat HCV infection in their patients on dialysis. We review the workflow and motivation behind nephrology-led management of HCV infection. We highlight the importance of identifying which patients need referral to a hepatologist or HCV specialist prior to treatment and which can be managed by their nephrologist. Nephrologist involvement would lead to improved access to treatment and ensure that appropriate patients are referred for HCV treatment. In this paper, we review the background of HCV infection, its effect on dialysis patients, and impact on kidney transplantation. In addition, we outline the therapy options for each genotype of HCV, and we discuss the benefits and barriers to nephrology-led HCV treatment.
丙型肝炎病毒(HCV)感染是终末期肝病的主要病因,是透析患者常见的合并症,可导致发病率和死亡率增加。从历史上看,基于干扰素和利巴韦林的疗法极难治愈HCV,且这些疗法还伴有显著副作用,很少有透析患者接受过HCV治疗。然而,在过去4年中,无干扰素的直接抗病毒疗法已获批准,并且在透析患者中对几种联合疗法进行了研究。一种最近获批的泛基因型直接抗病毒方案,即glecaprevir和pibrentasvir,可能会简化处方。这些新疗法简单且副作用少,使肾病科医生能够治疗透析患者的HCV感染。我们回顾了由肾病科主导的HCV感染管理背后的工作流程和动机。我们强调了在治疗前确定哪些患者需要转诊给肝病专家或HCV专家以及哪些患者可由其肾病科医生管理的重要性。肾病科医生的参与将改善治疗的可及性,并确保合适的患者被转诊接受HCV治疗。在本文中,我们回顾了HCV感染的背景、其对透析患者的影响以及对肾移植的影响。此外,我们概述了每种HCV基因型的治疗选择,并讨论了由肾病科主导的HCV治疗的益处和障碍。