Wirelessly Observed Therapy to Optimize Adherence and Target Interventions for Oral Hepatitis C Treatment: Observational Pilot Study

• Main Authors: Bonacini, Maurizio, Kim, Yoona, Pitney, Caroline, McKoin, Lee, Tran, Melody, Landis, Charles
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: JMIR Publications 2020-04-01
• Series: Journal of Medical Internet Research
• Online Access: https://www.jmir.org/2020/4/e15532

BackgroundA fixed-dose combination of ledipasvir/sofosbuvir (LDV/SOF) is efficacious in treating chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection; however, objective adherence to prescribed regimens in real-world clinical settings has not been well studied. ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate adherence and virologic outcomes in patients with chronic HCV infection treated with LDV/SOF using a novel digital medicine program that directly measures drug ingestion adherence. MethodsThis prospective, observational, open-label, single-arm pilot study was conducted at 2 clinical research sites and followed patients with HCV infection who were prescribed LDV/SOF along with an ingestible sensor. Patients were treated for 8 or 12 weeks. The main outcomes were ingestion adherence, medical interventions, virologic response, safety, and patient satisfaction. ResultsOf the 28 patients (mean 59 years, SD 7), 61% (17/28) were male, 61% (17/28) were non-Caucasian, and 93% (26/28) were treatment naïve. All 28 had genotype 1 HCV, and of these, 27 completed an 8- or 12-week treatment. Patients used the digital medicine program for 92% of the expected days; the overall mean ingestion adherence rate was 97%. Providers used the digital medicine program data for same-day medication therapy management in 39% (11/28) of patients. End-of-treatment response was achieved in all the available 21 of 28 patients. Sustained virologic response at 12 weeks or more was achieved in 26 of 28 patients; of the 2 patients who relapsed, one had less than 90% adherence and the other had greater than or equal to 95% adherence, lending insights into reasons for treatment failure. A total of 4 subjects reported nonserious adverse events, which were resolved. ConclusionsThe findings of this study suggest that digital medicines can be used for wirelessly observed therapy to support adherence to antiviral HCV therapy, reduce unnecessary medication wastage and retreatment costs, and potentially optimize sustained virologic response rates, especially in populations at high risk for nonadherence.