Among patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, those who have sustained virological response (SVR) to direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy have reductions in measures of healthcare utilization compared with those who do not receive DAA therapy, according to a study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases. Stuart C. Gordon, MD, and colleagues compared rates of ED visits and hospitalizations between patients with HCV who achieved SVR after DAA therapy and matched controls who did not receive DAA treatment. A total of 3,049 pairs of patients were included in the analyses. No significant difference was seen between cases and controls in the rate of all-cause ED visits. However, liver-related ED visits were significantly lower for cases versus controls and overall rates of all-cause and liver-related hospital admissions were lower among cases than controls. Among most subgroups of DAA-SVR patients, all-cause hospitalizations were lower than among controls, except for Black patients and those aged 70 or older.
