Chronic hepatitis C treatment: a systematic review

Background: Chronic hepatitis C [CHC] infection affects almost 3% of the global population and can lead to cirrhosis, liver failure, and hepatocellular carcinoma in a significant number of those infected. Thus, there is a compelling need to develop and introduce new therapeutics with a direct-acting antiviral effect in order to target various stages of the HCV lifecycle for HCV eradication without concomitant interferon

Study Objective: to provide treatment recommendations for chronic HCV for specialists and generalists based on published evidence

Methods: A literature search of Web of Science, Scopus, Embase, Agricola, Cochrane Library, Cinahl Plus, Google Scholar, and Oaister was conducted from 1990 to 2016, records were filtered according to the Inclusion criteria and 27 hits were yielded

Results: Hepatitis C virus genotype 1 is more difficult to cure than genotype 2 or genotype 3. Patients with HCV genotype 1 should receive treatment with sofosbuvir + pegylated interferon + ribavirin because of the shorter duration of therapy and high rates of SVR [89%-90%]. Simeprevir + pegylated interferon + ribavirin is an alternative for patients with HCV genotype 1 [SVR, 79%-86%]. Patients with HCV genotypes 2 and 3 should receive therapy with sofosbuvir + ribavirin alone [SVR for genotype 2, 12 weeks' duration: 82%-93%; SVR for genotype 3, 24 weeks' duration, 80%-95%]. Patients with HIV-HCV coinfection and patients with compensated cirrhosis [ie, cirrhosis but preserved synthetic liver function] should receive the same treatment as HCV-monoinfected patients

Conclusion: A growing body of evidence suggests that recently developed HCV combined treatment modalities have transformed chronic HCV into a routinely curable disease being relatively available and well tolerated,which can potentially reduce the need for liver transplantation and reduce HCV-related mortality. Treatment protocol for genotype1 is based on a combined regimen of Pegylated interferons with ribavirin and sofosbuvir or simeprevir while Sofosbuvir with ribavirin alone should be used to treat patients infected with HCV genotypes 2 and 3. Patients coinfected with human immunodefiency virus and HCV genotype 1 should be treated for HCV with pegylated interferons, ribavirin, and sofosbuvir by a physician with experience in treating this particular group of patients and familiar with potential drug interactions

Behavioral and educational interventions to improve asthma outcomes in children: a systematic review

Background: Asthma, being a chronic inflammatory disease requires not only medical treatment but also complimentary healthcare, self-management strategies and interventions for the appropriate management and possible prevention of attack as well as reduction of school absences and days of restricted activity and decrease emergency room utilization

Methods: Randomized clinical trial [RCT] data reviewed for outcomes and processes associated with asthma educational and behavioral interventions provided by different types of health professionals. The study group has synthesized studies that identified barriers and interventions to improve asthma symptoms and management in children through searching in MEDLINE, Cochrane EMBASE, TOXLine and CINAHL considering papers starting from 1999

Results: Physician-led interventions were most successful for outcomes related to the use of health care. Multidisciplinary teams were best in achieving symptom reduction and quality of life. Lay persons were best in achieving self-management/self-efficacy outcomes. Components most frequently employed in successful programs are skills to improve patient-clinician communication and education to enhance patient self-management. Fifty percent of interventions achieved reduction in the use of health care and one-third in symptom control. A combination approach including self-management and patient-clinician communication involving multidisciplinary team members may have the greatest effect on most outcomes

Conclusion: Strong evidences suggest that the development of self-management and clinician-patient communication skills are essentially required and considered as critical factors for Asthma patients particularly children symptoms alleviation and outcomes improvement in the long term. This can be achieved by appropriate self-care, awareness programs through effective educational and behavioral intervention which are crucial components associated with success across outcomes and providers