Hoang Nam

Researchers who examined the effect of treating hepatitis C cu tam that bac patients with the newer generation of oral drugs suggest while these medications may cost tens of thousands of dollars for a 12-week course, they could avert billions in lost productivity.

They conclude that the higher cure rate and reduced side effects of treating hepatitis C patients with an all-oral combination of ledipasvir and sofosbuvir (LDV/SOF) led to substantially less absenteeism and better work productivity that could save economies of the US hoa tam thatand five European countries more than $3.2 billion a year.

The study featured at Digestive Disease Week 2015, an international gathering being held May 17-19 in Washington DC of clinicians and researchers from gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery.

Lead researcher Dr. Zobair Younossi, chairman of the department of medicine at Inova Fairfax Medical Campus, VA, says we have known for a long time about the devastating effect that chronic hepatitis C can have on patients' health:

"But given the significant side effects previously associated with treating the disease, notably fatigue and neuropsychiatric side effects, we were interested in looking at the impact of new treatments on patients' ability to work, and in a broader sense, how this affects employers and overall economies."

For their study, Dr. Younossi and colleagues used data on over 1,900 chronic hepatitis C patients treated with LDV/SOF in a clinical trial. The drug combination - which interferes with enzymes that help the hepatitis C virus multiply - showed a cure rate of 94-99% with minimal side effects, they note.

They contrast this with older, more traditional treatments, such as interferon and ribavirin that can have various side- effects, such as fatigue, flu-like symptoms, depression and lowered blood cell counts.

The patients in their sample - including participants from the US and Europe - had filled in surveys that asked them questions specifically about work productivity, level of activity and health problems arising during the clinical trial.

Curing hepatitis C could save US $2.67 billion a year

The researchers gathered data not only on absenteeism but "presenteei