After Curing Hepatitis C Virus Infection
Authors: Jose D. Debes
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2018)

Letters1 May 2018After Curing Hepatitis C Virus InfectionJose D. Debes, MDJose D. Debes, MDUniversity of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota (J.D.D.)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/L18-0013 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:Belperio and colleagues (1) describe the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health system's outstanding achievement of treating more than 80 000 patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection with direct-acting antiviral therapy and provide input for best practices in how to accomplish such a feat. However, in the era of direct-acting antivirals, emphasizing that the care of patients with HCV infection should go beyond treating the disease is important. This population is at high risk for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, and many studies—some from the VA—have previously reported that patients with HCV infection have a much ...References1. Belperio PS, Chartier M, Ross DB, Alaigh P, Shulkin D. Curing hepatitis C virus infection: best practices from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Ann Intern Med. 2017;167:499-504. [PMID: 28973196]. doi:10.7326/M17-1073 LinkGoogle Scholar2. Kramer ES, Hofmann C, Smith PG, Shiffman ML, Sterling RK. Response to hepatitis A and B vaccine alone or in combination in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus and advanced fibrosis. Dig Dis Sci. 2009;54:2016-25. [PMID: 19517231] doi:10.1007/s10620-009-0867-4 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Kramer JR, Hachem CY, Kanwal F, Mei M, El-Serag HB. Meeting vaccination quality measures for hepatitis A and B virus in patients with chronic hepatitis C infection. Hepatology. 2011;53:42-52. [PMID: 21254161] doi:10.1002/hep.24024 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Moorman JP, Zhang CL, Ni L, Ma CJ, Zhang Y, Wu XY, et al. Impaired hepatitis B vaccine responses during chronic hepatitis C infection: involvement of the PD-1 pathway in regulating CD4(+) T cell responses. Vaccine. 2011;29:3169-76. [PMID: 21376795] doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2011.02.052 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Spaan M, van Oord G, Kreefft K, Hou J, Hansen BE, Janssen HL, et al. Immunological analysis during interferon-free therapy for chronic hepatitis C virus infection reveals modulation of the natural killer cell compartment. J Infect Dis. 2016;213:216-23. [PMID: 26223768] doi:10.1093/infdis/jiv391 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota (J.D.D.)Disclosures: The author has disclosed no conflicts of interest. The form can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=L18-0013. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoCuring Hepatitis C Virus Infection: Best Practices From the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Pamela S. Belperio , Maggie Chartier , David B. Ross , Poonam Alaigh , and David Shulkin After Curing Hepatitis C Virus Infection Pamela S. Belperio , Maggie Chartier , and David B. Ross Metrics 1 May 2018Volume 168, Issue 9Page: 682KeywordsDrug pricesHepatitis AHepatitis B virusHepatitis C virusImmune responseImmune systemInfectious diseasesInfectious hepatitisRisk managementVeteran care ePublished: 1 May 2018 Issue Published: 1 May 2018 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2018 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...