Clinical features and comorbidity pattern of HCV infected migrants compared to native patients in care in Italy: A real-life evaluation of the PITER cohort

Background: Direct-acting antivirals are highly effective for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, regardless race/ethnicity. We aimed to evaluate demographic, virological and clinical data of HCV-infected migrants vs. natives consecutively enrolled in the PITER cohort. Methods: Migrants were defined by country of birth and nationality that was different from Italy. Mann-Whitney U test, Chi-squared test and multiple logistic regression were used. Results: Of 10,669 enrolled patients, 301 (2.8%) were migrants: median age 47 vs. 62 years, (p < 0.001), females 56.5% vs. 45.3%, (p < 0.001), HBsAg positivity 3.8% vs. 1.4%, (p < 0.05). Genotype 1b was prevalent in both groups, whereas genotype 4 was more prevalent in migrants (p < 0.05). Liver disease severity and sustained virologic response (SVR) were similar. A higher prevalence of comorbidities was reported for natives compared to migrants (p < 0.05). Liver disease progression cofactors (HBsAg, HIV coinfection, alcohol abuse, potential metabolic syndrome) were present in 39.1% and 47.1% (p > 0.05) of migrants and natives who eradicated HCV, respectively. Conclusion: Compared to natives, HCV-infected migrants in care have different demographics, HCV genotypes, viral coinfections and comorbidities and similar disease severity, SVR and cofactors for disease progression after HCV eradication. A periodic clinical assessment after HCV eradication in Italians and migrants with cofactors for disease progression is warranted

L'Italia come modello per l'Europa e per il mondo nelle politiche sanitarie per il trattamento dell'epatite cronica da HCV

The World Health Organization foresees the elimination of HCV infection by 2030. In light of this and the curre nt, nearly worldwide, restriction in direct-acting agents (DAA) accessibility due to their high price, we aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of two alternative DAA treatment policies: Policy 1 (universal): treat all patients, regardless of the fibrosis stage; Policy 2 (prioritized): treat only priori tized patients and delay treatment of the remaining patients until reaching stage F3. T he model was based on patient’s data from the PITER cohort. We demonstrated that extending HC V treatment of patients in any fibrosis stage improves health outcomes and is cost-effective

Economic consequences of investing in anti-HCV antiviral treatment from the Italian NHS perspective : a real-world-based analysis of PITER data

OBJECTIVE: We estimated the cost consequence of Italian National Health System (NHS) investment in direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy according to hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment access policies in Italy. METHODS: A multistate, 20-year time horizon Markov model of HCV liver disease progression was developed. Fibrosis stage, age and genotype distributions were derived from the Italian Platform for the Study of Viral Hepatitis Therapies (PITER) cohort. The treatment efficacy, disease progression probabilities and direct costs in each health state were obtained from the literature. The break-even point in time (BPT) was defined as the period of time required for the cumulative costs saved to recover the Italian NHS investment in DAA treatment. Three different PITER enrolment periods, which covered the full DAA access evolution in Italy, were considered. RESULTS: The disease stages of 2657 patients who consecutively underwent DAA therapy from January 2015 to December 2017 at 30 PITER clinical centres were standardized for 1000 patients. The investment in DAAs was considered to equal €25 million, €15 million, and €9 million in 2015, 2016, and 2017, respectively. For patients treated in 2015, the BPT was not achieved, because of the disease severity of the treated patients and high DAA prices. For 2016 and 2017, the estimated BPTs were 6.6 and 6.2 years, respectively. The total cost savings after 20 years were €50.13 and €55.50 million for 1000 patients treated in 2016 and 2017, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study may be a useful tool for public decision makers to understand how HCV clinical and epidemiological profiles influence the economic burden of HCV

High HIV-1 diversity in immigrants resident in Italy (2008–2017)

The proportion of new diagnoses of HIV infection in immigrants residing in Italy raised from 11% in 1992 to 29.7% in 2018. To investigate the HIV clades circulating in this community a retrospective study was performed in 557 HIV-infected immigrants living in 12 Italian cities. Immigrants originated from East-Europe and Central-Asia (11.7%), North Africa and Middle East (7.3%), South and South-East Asia (7.2%), Latin America and the Caribbean (14.4%), and sub-Saharan Africa (59.4%). More than 87% of immigrants were on antiretroviral therapy (ART), although 26.6% of them were viremic. A 22.0% of immigrants had hepatitis (HBV and/or HCV) and/or tuberculosis. HIV phylogenetic analysis on sequences from 192 immigrants showed the presence of clades B (23.4%), G (16.1%), C (10.4%), A1 (9.4%), F1 (5.2%), D (1.6%) and Circulating Recombinant Forms (CRFs) (33.9%). CRF02_AG represented 72.3% of the total CRFs. Clusters between immigrants and Italian natives were also present. Drug resistance mutations to NRTI, NNRTI, and PI drug classes occurred in 29.1% of ART-treated and in 12.9% of ART-naïve individuals. These data highlight the need for tailored public health interventions in immigrants to avoid spreading in Italy of HIV genetic forms and ART-resistant variants, as well as HIV co-morbidities

Atazanavir/ritonavir with lamivudine as maintenance therapy in virologically suppressed HIV-infected patients: 96 week outcomes of a randomized trial

Objectives: To investigate the long-term safety and efficacy of a treatment switch to dual ART with atazanavir/ritonavir+lamivudine versus continuing a standard regimen with atazanavir/ritonavir+2NRTI in virologically suppressed patients. Methods: ATLAS-M is a 96 week open-label, randomized, non-inferiority (margin -12%) trial enrolling HIV-infected adults on atazanavir/ritonavir+2NRTI, with stable HIV-RNA < 50 copies/mL and CD4 counts.200 cells/mm 3 . At baseline, patients were randomized 1:1 to switch to atazanavir/ritonavir+lamivudine or to continue the previous regimen. Here, we report the 96 week efficacy and safety data. The study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01599364. Results: Overall, 266 subjects were enrolled (133 in each arm). At 96 weeks, in the ITT population, patients free of treatment failure totalled 103 (77.4%) with atazanavir/ritonavir+lamivudine and 87 (65.4%) with triple therapy (difference +12.0%, 95% CI +1.2/+22.8, P=0.030), demonstrating the superiority of dual therapy. Two (1.5%) and 9 (6.8%) virological failures occurred in the dual-therapy arm and the triple-therapy arm, respectively, without development of resistance to any study drug. Clinical adverse events occurred at similar rates in both arms. A higher frequency of grade 3-4 hyperbilirubinemia (66.9% versus 50.4%, P=0.006) and hypertriglyceridaemia (6.8% versus 1.5%, P=0.031) occurred with dual therapy, although this never led to treatment discontinuation. A significant improvement in renal function and lumbar spine bone mineral density occurred in the dual-therapy arm. The evolution of CD4, HIV-DNA levels and neurocognitive performance was similar in both arms. Conclusions: In this randomized study, a treatment switch to atazanavir/ritonavir+lamivudine was superior over the continuation of atazanavir/ritonavir+2NRTI in virologically suppressed patients, with a sustained benefit in terms of improved renal function and bone mineral density

Treatment simplification to atazanavir/ritonavir+lamivudine versus maintenance of atazanavir/ritonavir+two NRTIs in virologically suppressed HIV-1-infected patients: 48 week results from a randomized trial (ATLAS-M)

none149noBackground: Combination ART (cART)-related toxicities and costs have prompted the need for treatment simplification. The ATLAS-M trial explored 48 week non-inferior efficacy of simplification to atazanavir/ritonavir + lamivudine versus maintaining three-drug atazanavir/ritonavir-based cART in virologically suppressed patients. Methods: We performed an open-label, multicentre, randomized, non-inferiority study, enrolling HIV-infected adults on atazanavir/ritonavir+two NRTIs, with stable HIV-RNA <50 copies/mL and CD4+>200 cells/mm3. Main exclusion criteria were hepatitis B virus coinfection, past virological failure on or resistance to study drugs, recent AIDS and pregnancy. Patients were randomly assigned 1:1 to either switch to 300mg of atazanavir/ 100mg of ritonavir once daily and 300mg of lamivudine once daily (atazanavir/ritonavir+lamivudine arm) or to continue the previous regimen (atazanavir/ritonavir+two NRTIs arm). The primary study outcome was the maintenance of HIV-RNA <50 copies/mL at week 48 of the ITT-exposed (ITT-e) analysis with switch"failure. The non-inferiority margin was 12%. This study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01599364. Results: Between July 2011 and June 2014, 266 patients were randomized (133 to each arm). After 48 weeks, the primary study outcome was met by 119 of 133 patients (89.5%) in the atazanavir/ritonavir+lamivudine arm and 106 of 133 patients (79.7%) in the atazanavir/ritonavir+two NRTIs arm [difference atazanavir/ritonavir+ lamivudine versus atazanavir/ritonavir+two NRTIs arm: +9.8% (95% CI+1.2 to+18.4)], demonstrating non-inferiority and superior efficacy of the atazanavir/ritonavir+lamivudine arm. Virological failure occurred in two (1.5%) patients in the atazanavir/ritonavir+lamivudine arm and six (4.5%) patients in the atazanavir/ritonavir+ two NRTIs arm, without resistance selection. A similar proportion of adverse events occurred in both arms. Conclusions: Treatment simplification to atazanavir/ritonavir+lamivudine showed non-inferior efficacy (superiority on post-hoc analysis) and a comparable safety profile over continuing atazanavir/ritonavir+two NRTIs in virologically suppressed patients.mixedDi Giambenedetto, S.; Fabbiani, M.; Quiros Roldan, E.; Latini, A.; D'Ettorre, G.; Antinori, A.; Castagna, A.; Orofino, G.; Francisci, D.; Chinello, P.; Madeddu, G.; Grima, P.; Rusconi, S.; Di Pietro, M.; Mondi, A.; Ciccarelli, N.; Borghetti, A.; Focà, E.; Colafigli, M.; De Luca, A.; Cauda, R.; Baldonero, E.; Belmonti, S.; D'Avino, A.; Gagliardini, R.; Lamonica, S.; Lombardi, F.; Sidella, L.; Tamburrini, E.; Visconti, E.; Giacometti, A.; Barchiesi, F.; Castelli, P.; Cirioni, O.; Mazzocato, S.; Blanc, P.; Degli Esposti, A.; Del Pin, B.; Mariabelli, E.; Marini, S.; Poggi, A.; Amadasi, S.; Apostoli, A.; Biasi, L.; Bonito, A.; Brianese, N.; Compostella, S.; Ferraresi, A.; Motta, D.; Mughini, M.T.; Celesia, B.M.; Gussio, M.; Sofia, S.; Tana, M.; Tundo, P.; Viscoli, C.; De Hoffer, L.; Di Biagio, A.; Grignolo, S.; Parisini, A.; Schenone, E.; Taramasso, L.; Manconi, P.E.; Boccone, A.; Ortu, F.; Piano, P.; Serusi, L.; Puoti, M.; Moioli, M.C.; Rossotti, R.; Travi, G.; Ventura, F.; Galli, M.; Di Nardo Stuppino, S.; Di Cristo, V.; Giacomelli, A.; Vimercati, V.; Viale, P.; Gori, A.; Rizzardini, G.; Capetti, A.; Carenzi, L.; Mazza, F.; Meraviglia, P.; Rosa, S.; Zucchi, P.; Mineo, M.; Giuliani, M.; Pacifici, A.; Pimpinelli, F.; Solivetti, F.; Stivali, F.; Angelici, F.; Bellagamba, R.; Delle Rose, D.; Fezza, R.; Libertone, R.; Mosti, S.; Narciso, P.; Nicastri, E.; Ottou, S.; Tomassi, C.; Vlassi, C.; Zaccarelli, M.; Zoppè, F.; Vullo, V.; Altavilla, F.; Ceccarelli, G.; Fantauzzi, A.; Gebremeskel, S.; Lo Menzo, S.; Mezzaroma, I.; Tierno, F.; Petrosillo, N.; Boumis, E.; Cicalini, S.; Grilli, E.; Musso, M.; Stella, C.; Mura, M.S.; Bagella, P.; Mannazzu, M.; Soddu, V.; Caramello, P.; Carcieri, C.; Carosella, S.; Farenga, M.; Scotton, P.G.; Rossi, M.C.; Concia, E.; Corsini, F.; Gricolo, C.; Lanzafame, M.; Lattuada, E.; Leonardi, S.; Rigo, F.; Lazzarin, A.; Bigoloni, A.; Carini, E.; Nozza, S.; Spagnuolo, V.; Belfiori, B.; Malincarne, L.; Schiaroli, E.; Sfara, C.; Tosti, A.; Sacchini, D.; Ruggieri, A.; Valdatta, C.Di Giambenedetto, S.; Fabbiani, M.; Quiros Roldan, E.; Latini, A.; D'Ettorre, G.; Antinori, A.; Castagna, A.; Orofino, G.; Francisci, D.; Chinello, P.; Madeddu, G.; Grima, P.; Rusconi, S.; Di Pietro, M.; Mondi, A.; Ciccarelli, N.; Borghetti, A.; Focà, E.; Colafigli, M.; De Luca, A.; Cauda, R.; Baldonero, E.; Belmonti, S.; D'Avino, A.; Gagliardini, R.; Lamonica, S.; Lombardi, F.; Sidella, L.; Tamburrini, E.; Visconti, E.; Giacometti, A.; Barchiesi, F.; Castelli, P.; Cirioni, O.; Mazzocato, S.; Blanc, P.; Degli Esposti, A.; Del Pin, B.; Mariabelli, E.; Marini, S.; Poggi, A.; Amadasi, S.; Apostoli, A.; Biasi, L.; Bonito, A.; Brianese, N.; Compostella, S.; Ferraresi, A.; Motta, D.; Mughini, M. T.; Celesia, B. M.; Gussio, M.; Sofia, S.; Tana, M.; Tundo, P.; Viscoli, C.; De Hoffer, L.; Di Biagio, A.; Grignolo, S.; Parisini, A.; Schenone, E.; Taramasso, L.; Manconi, P. E.; Boccone, A.; Ortu, F.; Piano, P.; Serusi, L.; Puoti, M.; Moioli, M. C.; Rossotti, R.; Travi, G.; Ventura, F.; Galli, M.; Di Nardo Stuppino, S.; Di Cristo, V.; Giacomelli, A.; Vimercati, V.; Viale, P.; Gori, A.; Rizzardini, G.; Capetti, A.; Carenzi, L.; Mazza, F.; Meraviglia, P.; Rosa, S.; Zucchi, P.; Mineo, M.; Giuliani, M.; Pacifici, A.; Pimpinelli, F.; Solivetti, F.; Stivali, F.; Angelici, F.; Bellagamba, R.; Delle Rose, D.; Fezza, R.; Libertone, R.; Mosti, S.; Narciso, P.; Nicastri, E.; Ottou, S.; Tomassi, C.; Vlassi, C.; Zaccarelli, M.; Zoppè, F.; Vullo, V.; Altavilla, F.; Ceccarelli, G.; Fantauzzi, A.; Gebremeskel, S.; Lo Menzo, S.; Mezzaroma, I.; Tierno, F.; Petrosillo, N.; Boumis, E.; Cicalini, S.; Grilli, E.; Musso, M.; Stella, C.; Mura, M. S.; Bagella, P.; Mannazzu, M.; Soddu, V.; Caramello, P.; Carcieri, C.; Carosella, S.; Farenga, M.; Scotton, P. G.; Rossi, M. C.; Concia, E.; Corsini, F.; Gricolo, C.; Lanzafame, M.; Lattuada, E.; Leonardi, S.; Rigo, F.; Lazzarin, A.; Bigoloni, A.; Carini, E.; Nozza, S.; Spagnuolo, V.; Belfiori, B.; Malincarne, L.; Schiaroli, E.; Sfara, C.; Tosti, A.; Sacchini, D.; Ruggieri, A.; Valdatta, C