BACKGROUND: An overall prevalence rate of HCV infection in Romanian adult population was recently estimated to be 3.23%. The proportion of treated patients with chronic hepatitis C in our country has never been assessed. AIMS: 1) to analyze the quality and quantity of antiviral therapy delivery; 2) to determine the proportion of patients being annually and ever treated with antiviral therapy in Romania and 3) to identify barriers against treatment of HCV infected-population in Romania. RESULTS: The number of annually treated patients remained relatively stable between 2002 and 2007 (1,813 patients treated with pegylated interferon and ribavirin in 2002 and 2,446 in 2007). There was a doubled increase in reimbursed treatment in 2008 and 2009 (4,503 and respectively 4,701 treated patients) due to a special campaign organized to increase awareness and prevention of HCV transmission. The median time to therapy approval varies from county to county; overall it is 10.23 months. A total number of 25,318 patients with chronic C hepatitis were treated between 2002-2009, corresponding to a cumulative proportion of 4.1% of the prevalent cases of HCV infection treated in Romania until 1st January 2010. The main limiting factor of access to antiviral therapy for hepatitis C in Romania remains the lack of funds. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first analysis of the nationwide practice for treatment of hepatitis C in Romania. Increased public health efforts are required to improve access to antiviral therapy for hepatitis C in Romania.
BACKGROUND: An overall prevalence rate of HCV infection in Romanian adult population was recently estimated to be 3.23%. The proportion of treated patients with chronic hepatitis C in our country has never been assessed. AIMS: 1) to analyze the quality and quantity of antiviral therapy delivery; 2) to determine the proportion of patients being annually and ever treated with antiviral therapy in Romania and 3) to identify barriers against treatment of HCV infected-population in Romania. RESULTS: The number of annually treated patients remained relatively stable between 2002 and 2007 (1,813 patients treated with pegylated interferon and ribavirin in 2002 and 2,446 in 2007). There was a doubled increase in reimbursed treatment in 2008 and 2009 (4,503 and respectively 4,701 treated patients) due to a special campaign organized to increase awareness and prevention of HCV transmission. The median time to therapy approval varies from county to county; overall it is 10.23 months. A total number of 25,318 patients with chronic C hepatitis were treated between 2002-2009, corresponding to a cumulative proportion of 4.1% of the prevalent cases of HCV infection treated in Romania until 1st January 2010. The main limiting factor of access to antiviral therapy for hepatitis C in Romania remains the lack of funds. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first analysis of the nationwide practice for treatment of hepatitis C in Romania. Increased public health efforts are required to improve access to antiviral therapy for hepatitis C in Romania.
Authors: Dominique Salmon-Ceron; Julien Cohen; Maria Winnock; Perrine Roux; Firouze Bani Sadr; Eric Rosenthal; Isabelle Poizot Martin; Marc-Arthur Loko; Marion Mora; Philippe Sogni; Bruno Spire; François Dabis; Maria Patrizia Carrieri Journal: BMC Health Serv Res Date: 2012-03-12 Impact factor: 2.655
Authors: Juan M Pericàs; Daniel J Bromberg; Denise Ocampo; Eberhard Schatz; Iwona Wawer; Piotr Wysocki; Kelly Safreed-Harmon; Jeffrey V Lazarus Journal: Harm Reduct J Date: 2019-03-21