Background: We evaluated the impact of opioid substitution therapy (OST) on the completion, adherence, efficacy, and safety of the 3-direct-acting antiviral regimen of ombitasvir, paritaprevir (identified by AbbVie and Enanta) co-dosed with ritonavir, and dasabuvir ± ribavirin among patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype (GT) 1, with or without compensated cirrhosis.
Methods: Data were pooled from GT1-infected patients enrolled in 12 phase II/III/IIIb clinical trials and categorized by use of OST. Patients with ongoing drug use were excluded. HCV treatment completion, treatment adherence (≥90%), sustained virologic response at post-treatment week 12 (SVR12), and adverse events were assessed.
Results: Of 4747 patients, 3% (n = 149) received OST. Among patients receiving OST vs those not receiving OST, 82% (n = 122) vs 52% (n = 2409) had GT1a infection; 76% (n = 113) vs 61% (n = 2792) were treatment naïve; and 17% (n = 25) vs 18% (n = 830) had cirrhosis, respectively. The proportion of patients completing HCV treatment did not differ between those receiving and not receiving OST (97% [n = 144] vs 98% [n = 4510], respectively), whereas adherence to treatment was reduced in patients receiving vs those not receiving OST (88% [n = 105] vs 97% [n = 4057], respectively). SVR12 was similar between patients receiving and not receiving OST (94% [n = 140] vs 96% [n = 4405], respectively; P = .273). Treatment was well tolerated.
Conclusions: Although treatment adherence was lower in patients receiving OST vs those not receiving OST, treatment completion and SVR12 were similar between groups. These data support the use of direct-acting antiviral therapies in patients receiving OST.
Keywords: PWID; drug use; hepatitis C virus; opioid substitution therapy.