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US medical societies launch new hepatitis C treatment guidelines
Liz Highleyman, 2014-01-30 10:00:00
The American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and International Antiviral Society-USA (IAS-USA) yesterday announced the first new hepatitis C treatment guidelines to include next-generation direct-acting antiviral agents recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The guidance, available on the newly launched website HCVguidelines.org, will be updated frequently to reflect emerging data.
The advent of direct-acting antivirals has revolutionised hepatitis C treatment, but many prospective patients and providers are waiting for all-oral regimens that avoid interferon, which must be injected weekly and can cause debilitating side-effects.
"Recently approved medications and several others on the horizon promise to cure nearly all treated patients without the many side-effects that have plagued past treatment regimens," said AASLD panel co-chair Donald Jensen during a media teleconference on Tuesday introducing the website and guidelines.
The new guidelines were developed by a panel of 27 liver disease and infectious diseases specialists and a patient advocate. The evidence-based consensus recommendations reflect the latest data on screening, management and treatment of chronic hepatitis C.
The guidelines are intended for use by both hepatologists and infectious disease doctors who have traditionally treated people with hepatitis C, as well as by other types of providers who will be called on to treat the growing number of people seeking care due to expanded screening and availability of better treatments.
"We expect the guidelines to be used by practitioners well versed in nuances of antiviral therapy, but also by many who are inexperienced or even new to the field of hepatitis C," said IDSA panel co-chair David Thomas.
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