Hepatitis C in injection drug users: It is time to treat

Injection drug users (IDUs) are at risk of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, due to needle and syringe sharing. Chronic HCV infection is a major cause of liver-related morbidity and mortality but can be cured with antiviral treatment leading to sustained viral response (SVR). It is well demonstrated that, when close cooperation between specialists in drug addiction and psychiatrists is assured, patients on maintenance treatment with methadone/buprenorphine can be treated for HCV with response rate, tolerability and side effects similar to those reported in non-IDUs. Current guidelines recommend that active injection drug use should not exclude patients from HCV treatment, but many services remain reluctant to treat IDUs. No significant pharmacodynamic interactions were reported between approved direct anti-viral agents (DAAs) and buprenorphine or methadone. Dose adjustments are not recommended; therefore DAAs appear to be the “perfect” therapy for patients taking opiate substitutive therapy. These suggestions have been recently recognized by the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) and included in EASL Recommendations on Treatment of Hepatitis C 2016. Guidelines confirm that HCV treatment for IDUs should be considered on an individualized basis and delivered within a multidisciplinary team setting; a history of intravenous drug use and recent drug use at treatment initiation are not associated with reduced SVR and decisions to treat must be made on a case-by-case basis.