scholarly journals Attitude and Practices Regarding Use of Direct Acting Antiviral Agents (DAAs) in the Treatment of Hepatitis C among Health Care Practitioners “A Survey-based Study”

Author(s):  
Nadia Saifullah ◽  
Dabeeran Zehra ◽  
Ambreen Wasim ◽  
Samia Saifullah ◽  
Urooj Zafar ◽  
...  

Approximately 3% of the world population has been known to be infected with HCV. Hepatitis C virus is a major etiological factor behind the development of liver diseases such as cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Interferon-based therapy has remained as the mainstay treatment for HCV for decades. Owing to the unavoidable side effects of interferon, direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) have been approved recently for the treatment of HCV-infected patient. These drugs have brought revolution in the management of HCV because of their favorable side effects profiles and enhanced rates of sustained virological response. We conducted a questionnaire-based survey study to assess the knowledge and current practices among specialists and senior post graduate trainees regarding treatment of HCV with DAAs. The questionnaire was based on latest WHO guidelines for treating HCV. The results obtained were collected and tabulated. Majority (95%) of physicians were between the age of 21-30 years and mostly (69.6%) were females. Almost three fourth of the practitioners were aware of direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) and 70.2% agreed that they reduce the duration of treatment along with low bill burden along with lesser side effects. In this study, we could see that the participants’ knowledge and practices regarding use of DAAs, preference over interferon therapy and recommended combinations for different age groups was appreciable, however there is still a gap of knowledge among doctors regarding treatment of HCV with DAAs which needs to be filled with the help of proper health educational programs and training.

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (8) ◽  
pp. 418-425
Author(s):  
Maria Isabel Guzman Ramos ◽  
Mercedes Manzano-García ◽  
M. de las Aguas Robustillo-Cortés ◽  
Juan Antonio Pineda ◽  
Ramón Morillo-Verdugo

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 432
Author(s):  
Lorenzo Onorato ◽  
Mariantonietta Pisaturo ◽  
Mario Starace ◽  
Carmine Minichini ◽  
Alessandra Di Fraia ◽  
...  

The availability of all oral direct acting antiviral agents (DAAs) has revolutionized the management of HCV infections in recent years, allowing to achieve a sustained virological response (SVR) in more than 95% of cases, irrespective of hepatitis C Virus (HCV) genotype or staging of liver disease. Although rare, the failure to the latest-generation regimens (grazoprevir/elbasvir, sofosbuvir/velpatasvir, pibrentasvir/glecaprevir) represents a serious clinical problem, since the data available in the literature on the virological characteristics and management of these patients are few. The aim of the present narrative review was to provide an overview of the impact of baseline RASs in patients treated with the latest-generation DAAs and to analyze the efficacy of the available retreatment strategies in those who have failed these regimens.


2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Ejeh ◽  
Adamu Uzairu ◽  
Gideon Adamu Shallangwa ◽  
Stephen E. Abechi

Abstract Background Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a global medical condition that causes several life-threatening chronic diseases in the liver. The conventional interferon-free treatment regimens are currently in use by a blend of direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) aiming at the viral NS3 protease. However, major concerns may be the issue of DAA-resistant HCV strains and the limited availability to the DAAs due to their high price. Due to this crisis, the developments of a new molecule with high potency as an NS3/4A protease inhibitor of the hepatitis-C virus remain a high priority for medical research. This study aimed to use in-silico methods to identify high potent molecule as an NS3/4A protease inhibitor and investigating the binding energy of the identified molecule in comparison with approved direct-acting antiviral agents (Telaprevir, Simeprevir, and Voxilaprevir) through molecular docking. Results The model obtained by in-silico method have the following statistical records, coefficient of determination (r2) of 0.7704, cross-validation (q2LOO = 0.6914); external test set (r2(pred) = 0.7049) and Y-randomization assessment (cR2p = 0.7025). The results from the model were used to identify 12 new potential human HCV NS3/4A protease inhibitors, and it was observed that the identified molecule is well-fixed when docked with the receptor and was found to have the lowest binding energy of − 10.7, compared to approved direct-acting antiviral agents (Telaprevir, Simeprevir, and Voxilaprevir) with − 9.5, − 10.0, − 10.5 binding energy, respectively. Conclusion The binding affinity (− 10.7) of the newly identified molecule docked with 3D structures of HCV NS3/4a protease/helicase (PDB ID: 4A92) was found to be better than that of Telaprevir, Simeprevir, and Voxilaprevir (approved direct-acting antiviral agents) which are − 9.5, − 10.0, and − 10.5, respectively. Hence, a novel molecule was identified showing high potency as HCV NS3/4a protease inhibitors.


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