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Abstract Details
Changes in Alcohol Consumption following Direct-Acting Antiviral Treatment for Hepatitis C in VA Patients with Comorbid Alcohol Use Disorder and PTSD
1White River Junction Veterans Affairs Medical Center, White River Junction, Vermont, USA.
2Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
3Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA.
4Veterans Administration National Center for PTSD, White River Junction, Vermont, USA.
Abstract
Objective: To investigate whether direct-acting antivirals (DAA) for hepatitis C viral infection (HCV): glecaprevir/pibrentasvir (GLE/PIB), ledipasvir/sofosbuvir (LDV/SOF), and sofosbuvir/velpatasvir (SOF/VEL) are associated with reduced alcohol consumption among veterans with alcohol use disorder (AUD) and co-occurring post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Methods: We measured change in Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test-Consumption Module (AUDIT-C) scores in a retrospective cohort of veterans with PTSD and AUD receiving DAAs for HCV.
Results: One thousand two hundred and eleven patients were included (GLE/PIB n = 174, LDV/SOF n = 808, SOF/VEL n = 229). Adjusted frequencies of clinically meaningful improvement were 30.5% for GLE/PIB, 45.5% for LDV/SOF, and 40.5% for SOF/VEL. The frequency was lower for GLE/PIB than for LDV/SOF (OR = 0.59; 95% CI [0.40, 0.87]) or SOF/VEL (OR = 0.66; 95% CI [0.42, 1.04]).
Conclusions: DAA treatment for HCV was associated with a substantial reduction in alcohol use in patients with AUD and co-occurring PTSD. Further exploration of the role of DAAs in AUD treatment is warranted.