Successful treatment of chronic hepatitis C with pegylated interferon in combination with ribavirin in a methadone maintenance treatment program

J Subst Abuse Treat. 2009 Jul;37(1):32-40. doi: 10.1016/j.jsat.2008.09.009. Epub 2008 Nov 28.

Abstract

Injection drug users constitute 60% of the more than 4 million people in the United States with hepatitis C virus (HCV), including many methadone maintenance patients. Few data exist describing clinical outcomes for patients receiving HCV treatment on-site in methadone maintenance settings. In this retrospective study, we describe clinical outcomes for 73 patients receiving HCV treatment on-site in a methadone maintenance treatment program. Fifty-five percent of patients achieved end-of-treatment response, and 45% achieved sustained viral response. These treatment response rates are nearly equivalent to previously published HCV treatment response rates, despite high prevalences of ongoing drug use (49%), psychiatric comorbidity (67%), and HIV coinfection (32%). These data show that on-site HCV treatment with pegylated interferon and ribavirin is effective in methadone-maintained patients, many of whom are active drug users, psychiatrically ill, or HIV coinfected, and that methadone maintenance treatment programs represent an opportunity to safely treat chronic hepatitis C.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Analgesics, Opioid / therapeutic use
  • Antiviral Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Diagnosis, Dual (Psychiatry)
  • Drug Therapy, Combination
  • Female
  • HIV Infections / complications
  • Hepatitis C, Chronic / complications
  • Hepatitis C, Chronic / drug therapy*
  • Humans
  • Interferon alpha-2
  • Interferon-alpha / therapeutic use
  • Male
  • Methadone / therapeutic use
  • Opioid-Related Disorders / complications
  • Opioid-Related Disorders / rehabilitation
  • Polyethylene Glycols / therapeutic use
  • Recombinant Proteins
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Ribavirin / therapeutic use*
  • Substance Abuse, Intravenous / complications*
  • Substance Abuse, Intravenous / rehabilitation
  • Treatment Outcome
  • United States / epidemiology

Substances

  • Analgesics, Opioid
  • Antiviral Agents
  • Interferon alpha-2
  • Interferon-alpha
  • Recombinant Proteins
  • Polyethylene Glycols
  • Ribavirin
  • peginterferon alfa-2b
  • peginterferon alfa-2a
  • Methadone