Volume 7, Issue 4

Treating HCV in PWID: Best Practices

In this issue:

Hepatitis C has become “curable” for >90% of those infected. But while universal HCV elimination is medically possiblethis goal is compromised by certain populations who remain underscreened, undertreated, and underserved and continue to spread the virus. One such population is people who inject drugs (PWID).   

In this issue, Dr. Brianna Norton and Dr. Matthew Akiyama from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine analyze the most important data to explain how substance use impacts adherence and the risk of HCV reinfection. 

Learning objectives:

  • Describe best practices for treating HCV among PWID.
  • Explain the impact of injection drug use on adherence, on cure rates, and on the risk of reinfection after successful HCV therapy.   

Authors:

Brianna Norton, DO, MPH
Brianna Norton, DO, MPH

Assistant Professor of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Montefiore Medical Center 
Bronx, NY

Matthew Akiyama, MD, MSc
Matthew Akiyama, MD, MSc

Assistant Professor of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Montefiore Medical Center 
Bronx, NY

Program Directors:

Mark S. Sulkowski, MD

Professor of Medicine
Division of Infectious Diseases
Medical Director, Viral Hepatitis Center
Divisions of Infectious Diseases and Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Baltimore, Maryland

Raymond T. Chung, MD

Director of Hepatology and Liver Center
Vice Chief, Gastroenterology
Kevin and Polly Maroni Research Scholar
Massachusetts General Hospital
Harvard Medical School
Boston, Massachusetts

Taryn Haselhuhn, BA, BSN, MSN, CRNP

The Johns Hopkins Hospital
​Baltimore, Maryland

Length of activity:

0.5 hour Physicians
0.5 contact hour Nurses

Launch date: April 1, 2020
Expiration date: March 31, 2022