Browsing by Author "Mendizabal, Manuel"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Effectiveness of the implementation of a re-linkage to care strategy in patients with Hepatitis C who were lost of follow-up
    (2021) Mendizabal, Manuel; Thompson, Marcos Andres; Ridruejo, Ezequiel; Gonzalez Ballerga, Esteban; Ruiz Velasco, Jose Antonio Velarde; Palazzo, Ana; Mezzano, Gabriel; Muñoz Espinosa, Linda Elsa; Pessoa, Mario; Cerda Reyes, Eira; Soza, Alejandro; Ruiz, Sandro; Gomez-Aldana, Andres Jose; Gerona, Solange; Fuster, Francisco; Anders, Margarita; Beltran Valdivia, Flor De Maria; Poniachik, Jaime; Schinoni, Maria Isabel; Hernandez, Nelia; Montes, Pedro; Girala, Marcos; Castillo, Lida; Castillo-Barradas, Mauricio; Chavez, Rocio; Cabrera, Cecilia; Tenorio, Laura; Zevallos, Katherine; Garavito, Jorge; Brutti, Julia; Tagle, Martin; Castro Narro, Graciela; Vera Pozo, Emilia; Perazzo, Rosalia; Guillermo Toro, Luis; Varon, Adriana; Ferreiro, Melina; Lazcano, Monserrat; Dolores Murga, Maria; Gomez, Fernando; Hernandez, Larissa; Damasio Moutinho, Bruna; Gandara-Calderon, Julian; Vargas Domínguez, José Ignacio; Simian, Daniela; Silva, Marcelo
    Background: In order to achieve the World Health Organization’s ambitious goal of eliminating hepatitis C (HCV), we must implement innovative strategies to diagnose and treat more patients. Therefore, our study aimed to identify patients with chronic HCV infection who lost follow-up and offer them re-linkage to care and treatment with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs). Methods: We conducted an implementation study of a strategy to contact patients with chronic HCV who were not under regular follow-up in 10 countries from Latin America. Patients with HCV were identified by the international classification of diseases (ICD-9/10) or similar. Medical records were then reviewed to confirm the diagnosis of chronic HCV infection defined as anti-HCV + and detectable HCVRNA. Identified patients who were not under follow-up by a liver specialist were contacted to offer them a medical reevaluation and, eventually, treatment with DAA. Results: A total of 3,709 patients were classified as HCV, of which 367 (9.9%) presented undetectable HCVRNA, and 148 (4.0%) were wrongly coded. Overall, 3,194 (86.1%) individuals were identified with chronic HCV infection, 49,9% were male, median age was 61 years (IQR 51-69); 166 (5.2%) developed hepatocellular carcinoma, and 117 (3.7%) underwent liver transplantation. Advanced liver fibrosis (F3-F4) was present in 1,361 (42.6%) patients. A total of 1,764 (55.2%) patients were under close care. Of these, 1,371 (74.7%) received antiviral treatment, 70 (5.3%) did not achieve sustained virologic response, 314 (17.8%) were not treated for different reasons and 133 (7.5%) died. We identified 1,430 (44.8%) patients who were lost of follow-up, 564 (39.4%) of whom were finally located. Of those contacted, 402 (71.3%) were candidates to receive DAAs, 108 (19.2%) were treated in other institutions, 12 (2.1%) did not wish to be treated, and 42 (7.4%) died (Figure). Globally, in our study 786/3,194 (24.6%) patients were candidates to receive antiviral therapies. Conclusion: In our cohort, 1 out of 4 patients with chronic HCV could be re-linked to care and treated. This strategy impresses to be effective, accessible and, significantly impact on the HCV cascade to cure.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Inpatient Hepatology Consultation: A Practical Approach for Clinicians
    (2023) Díaz Piga, Luis Antonio; Pages, Josefina; Mainardi, Victoria; Mendizabal, Manuel
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Liver transplantation in Latin America: reality and challenges
    (2023) Aguirre-Villarreal, David; Servin-Rojas, Maximiliano; Sanchez-Cedillo, Aczel; Chavez-Villa, Mariana; Hernandez-Alejandro, Roberto; Arab, Juan Pablo; Ruiz, Isaac; Avendano-Castro, Karla P.; Matamoros, Maria A.; Adames-Almengor, Enrique; Diaz-Ferrer, Javier; Rodriguez-Aguilar, Erika Faride; Paez-Zayas, Victor Manuel; Contreras, Alan G.; Alvares-da-Silva, Mario R.; Mendizabal, Manuel; Oliveira, Claudia P.; Navasa, Miquel; Garcia-Juarez, Ignacio
    Healthcare systems in Latin America are broadly heterogeneous, but all of them are burdened by a dramatic rise in liver disease. Some challenges that these countries face include an increase in patients requiring a transplant, insufficient rates of organ donation, delayed referral, and inequitable or suboptimal access to liver transplant pro-grams and post-transplant care. This could be improved by expanding the donor pool through the implementation of education programs for citizens and referring physicians, as well as the inclusion of extended criteria donors, living donors and split liver transplantation. Addressing these shortcomings will require national shifts aimed at improving infrastructure, increasing awareness of organ donation, training medical personnel, and providing equitable access to care for all patients.