Evaluating the population impact of hepatitis C direct acting antiviral treatment as prevention for people who inject drugs (EPIToPe) – a natural experiment (protocol)

Hickman, Matthew; Dillon, John F; Elliott, Lawrie; De Angelis, Daniela; Vickerman, Peter; Foster, Graham; Donnan, Peter; Eriksen, Ann; Flowers, Paul; Goldberg, David; Hollingworth, William; Ijaz, Samreen; Liddell, David; Mandal, Sema; Martin, Natasha; Beer, Lewis J Z; Drysdale, Kate; Fraser, Hannah; Glass, Rachel; Graham, Lesley; Gunson, Rory N; Hamilton, Emma; Harris, Helen; Harris, Magdalena; Harris, Ross; Heinsbroek, Ellen; Hope, Vivian; Horwood, Jeremy; Inglis, Sarah Karen; Innes, Hamish; Lane, Athene; Meadows, Jade; McAuley, Andrew; Metcalfe, Chris; Migchelsen, Stephanie; Murray, Alex; Myring, Gareth; Palmateer, Norah E; Presanis, Anne; Radley, Andrew; Ramsay, Mary; Samartsidis, Pantelis; Simmons, Ruth; Sinka, Katy; Vojt, Gabriele; Ward, Zoe; Whiteley, David; Yeung, Alan; Hutchinson, Sharon J

Abstract

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the second largest contributor to liver disease in the UK, with injecting drug use as the main risk factor among the estimated 200 000 people currently infected. Despite effective prevention interventions, chronic HCV prevalence remains around 40% among people who inject drugs (PWID). New direct-acting antiviral (DAA) HCV therapies comine high cure rates (>90%) and short treatment duration (8 to 12 weeks). Theoretical mathematical modelling evidence suggests HCV treatment scale-up can prevent transmission and substantially reduce HCV prevalence/incidence among PWID. Our primary aim is to generate empirical evidence on the effectiveness of HCV ‘Treatment as Prevention’ (TasP) in PWID.

Citation

Hickman, M., Dillon, J. F., Elliott, L., De Angelis, D., Vickerman, P., Foster, G., Donnan, P., Eriksen, A., Flowers, P., Goldberg, D., Hollingworth, W., Ijaz, S., Liddell, D., Mandal, S., Martin, N., Beer, L. J. Z., Drysdale, K., Fraser, H., Glass, R., Graham, L., …Hutchinson, S. J. (2019). Evaluating the population impact of hepatitis C direct acting antiviral treatment as prevention for people who inject drugs (EPIToPe) – a natural experiment (protocol). BMJ Open, 9(9), Article e029538. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-029538

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 29, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Sep 24, 2019
• Publication Date: 2019-09
• Deposit Date: Sep 25, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 25, 2019
• Journal: BMJ Open
• Electronic ISSN: 2044-6055
• Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 9
• Issue: 9
• Article Number: e029538
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-029538
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/2166695