A multicentre, observational study on demographic and disease characteristics of patients seeking care for chronic hepatitis C in Belgium in 2016.
Acta Gastroenterol Belg
; 82(1): 43-52, 2019.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-30888753
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS:
Direct-acting antivirals provide interferon-free treatments for chronic hepatitis C (CHC) virus infection. In Belgium, in 2016, access to these agents was limited to patients with advanced liver fibrosis stages F3 and F4. This study is the first to describe Belgium's patient population ineligible for interferon-free treatment. PATIENTS ANDMETHODS:
This was an observational, cross-sectional, multicentre study that enrolled adult patients with CHC ineligible for interferon-free treatment. Patient data recorded at a single visit included demographic data, disease characteristics, comorbidities, co-medications, treatment status, and laboratory data.RESULTS:
Three hundred and three patients from 16 centres in Belgium were included in the statistical analysis. On average, patients were aged 53.5 years and 50.2% were women ; 94.1% had health insurance and 99.0% resided in Belgium. The current hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection was the first infection for 96.0% of patients and the mean time since infection was 20.0 years. Liver fibrosis stage was F0 for 23.7%, F0/F1 or F1 for 38.3%, F1/F2 or F2 for 25.8%, F3 for 7.1%, and F4 for 5.1% of patients ; 28.4% of patients were CHC treatment-experienced. The main reason for ineligibility for interferon-free treatment was lack of reimbursement (84.8%). Other reasons included no treatment urgency or medical decision to wait (27.1%), waiting for future treatment option (8.3%), and no social insurance coverage (3.6%).CONCLUSIONS:
This study provides recent data on the CHC patient population and disease characteristics in Belgium that could help medical communities and government agencies manage CHC disease burden.Palabras clave
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Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Contexto en salud:
11_ODS3_cobertura_universal
/
1_ASSA2030
/
2_ODS3
Problema de salud:
11_financial_arrangements
/
1_acesso_equitativo_servicos
/
1_financiamento_saude
/
2_cobertura_universal
Asunto principal:
Antivirales
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Gastos en Salud
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Hepacivirus
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Cobertura Universal del Seguro de Salud
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Hepatitis C Crónica
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Disparidades en Atención de Salud
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Accesibilidad a los Servicios de Salud
Tipo de estudio:
Clinical_trials
/
Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
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Prognostic_studies
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Risk_factors_studies
Aspecto:
Determinantes_sociais_saude
Límite:
Adult
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Female
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Humans
/
Middle aged
País/Región como asunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Acta Gastroenterol Belg
Año:
2019
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Bélgica