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Clinical and economic profile of entecavir in the treatment of chronic hepatitis b virus infection

Farmeconomia

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Field Value
 
Title Clinical and economic profile of entecavir in the treatment of chronic hepatitis b virus infection
 
Creator Eandi, Mario
 
Subject Health economics; Pharmacoeconomics
Entecavir; HBV infection; Nucleotide analogues; health costs
 
Description HBV infection in Italy is frequently underestimated, raising the risk of important complications, such as cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, and thus increasing mortality. In infections phases requiring treatment, it’s possible to choose among the currently available drugs: interferons, nucleoside and nucleotide analogues. Entecavir is a nucleoside analogue able to maintain a high genetic barrier, and to reduce the viral load < 300 copies/ml in 67% of HBeAg-positive patients and in 90% of HBeAg-negative patients after 48-weeks treatment, improving also necroinflammatory grade and fibrosis degree. In spite of the high cost of the confection, entecavir induces a saving in health costs because of the decrease in the disease progression. If compared, through pharmacoeconomic models and analysis, to tenofovir, a nucleotide acid considered equivalent in the first-line monotherapy of HBeAg-positive patients and in the long-term treatment of HBeAg-negative patients by the current international and Italian guidelines, it seems favourable in terms of safety and consequently in terms of costs of adverse events spared. However further studies are required: in particular direct comparative studies are still lacking.
 
Publisher SEEd
 
Contributor
 
Date 2011-06-15
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

 
Format text/html
application/pdf
 
Identifier http://journals.edizioniseed.it/index.php/FE/article/view/72
10.7175/fe.v12i2.72
 
Source Farmeconomia. Health economics and therapeutic pathways; Vol 12, No 2 (2011); 61-76
2240-256X
1721-6915
 
Language eng
 
Relation http://journals.edizioniseed.it/index.php/FE/article/view/72/119
http://journals.edizioniseed.it/index.php/FE/article/view/72/120
 
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