Real-world hepatitis C prevalence and treatment uptake at opioid agonist therapy clinics in Ontario, Canada.

Widespread screening for hepatitis C virus (HCV) is necessary for Canada to meet its HCV elimination goals by 2030. People who currently or previously injected drugs are at high risk for HCV. Opioid agonist therapy (OAT, such as methadone and buprenorphine) has been shown to help stabilize the lives of people who are opioid-dependent. The distribution of OAT in North America typically requires daily, weekly, or monthly clinic visits and presents an opportunity for engagement, screening and treatment for those at high-risk of HCV. In this study, HCV screening was conducted by staff at OAT clinics in Ontario from 2016 to 2020 and those with chronic infections were treated on-site with direct-acting antivirals. Point-of-care or dried blood spot (DBS) testing was used for antibodies, DBS or serum for HCV RNA and serum for HCV RNA at SVR12 (sustained virological response). Clinics screened 1954 people (mean age 40 years ±12, 63% male). Forty-five percent were antibody positive, of whom 64% were HCV RNA+. Eighty percent of those RNA+ set an appointment in which 99% attended. Ninety-six percent started treatment with 87% completing treatment. Sixty-eight percent of people who completed treatment submitted a sample for SVR12 testing of which 97% achieved a virological cure. Results suggest that HCV screening and treatment at OAT clinics is feasible, effective and warrants expansion. Data suggest strong treatment adherence due to high rates of SVR12 comparable with other OAT-based HCV treatment programs. The lack of SVR12 sampling could be addressed by either on-site phlebotomy or incentivizing SVR12 sampling.

Cardiac involvement in myasthenia gravis--is there a specific pattern?

Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune neuromuscular disorder characterized by skeletal muscle involvement, causing muscle weakness and fatigue. The prevalence of the disease is approximately 1:7500 with a maximal prevalence during the second and third decade in women and the fifth and sixth decade in men, although it may appear at any age. The disease has a slight female preponderance, with a sex ratio of 3:2. Cardiac involvement in myasthenia gravis may take several forms, ranging from asymptomatic ECG changes to ventricular tachycardia, myocarditis, conduction disorders, heart failure and sudden death. We hereby report two cases of patients with myasthenia gravis who developed signs and symptoms of cardiovascular involvement, requiring admission in a cardiology ward for further investigation and treatment. The particular characteristics of the first case may be summarized by the symptomatic conduction disturbances with frequent episodes of syncope in a patient with myasthenia gravis who necessitated permanent pacing and the difficulties we encountered in the establishment of conduction disturbancies etiology (due to the disease or due to the treatment with acetylcolinesterase inhibitors). The second case shows a different kind of cardiac involvement in myasthenia gravis--the ECG changes (giant diffuse T waves in a patient with cardiovascular risk factors) which needed further investigation and long term surveillance.