To evaluate treatment outcomes for patients with infective endocarditis and hepatitis C virus (HCV) through an interdisciplinary collaboration, highlighting the importance of coordinated care.
Key Findings:
75% of patients initiated treatment upon discharge, indicating effective connection to care.
69% of those who initiated treatment completed it, highlighting adherence challenges.
42% achieved sustained virologic response at 12 weeks post-treatment, suggesting room for improvement.
91% of patients with available results at 12 weeks were HCV RNA negative, reflecting successful treatment in a subset.
Interpretation:
Despite interdisciplinary efforts, sustained virologic response rates remained below 40%, indicating ongoing challenges in treatment access and adherence, particularly for vulnerable populations.
Limitations:
Retrospective design may limit the generalizability of findings, particularly in diverse populations.
Loss to follow-up and medication side effects were significant barriers to treatment completion, impacting overall efficacy.
Conclusion:
Further research is needed to explore interventions that could improve treatment outcomes, such as initiating therapy during hospitalization or dispensing the full course of medication at discharge, and evaluating their effectiveness.
A large audit of biomedical publications suggests fabricated references are increasingly appearing in peer-reviewed papers — often in ways that are difficult for reviewers and readers to detect.
