The impact of direct-acting antiviral agents on liver and kidney transplant costs and outcomes

Direct-acting antiviral medications (DAAs) have revolutionized care for hepatitis C positive (HCV+) liver (LT) and kidney (KT) transplant recipients. Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients registry data were integrated with national pharmaceutical claims (2007-2016) to identify HCV treatments before January 2014 (pre-DAA) and after (post-DAA), stratified by donor (D) and recipient (R) serostatus and payer. Pre-DAA, 18% of HCV+ LT recipients were treated within 3 years and without differences by donor serostatus or payer. Post-DAA, only 6% of D-/R+ recipients, 19.8% of D+/R+ recipients with public insurance, and 11.3% with private insurance were treated within 3 years (P <.0001). LT recipients treated for HCV pre-DAA experienced higher rates of graft loss (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] _1.34 1.85 _2.10 , P <.0001) and death (aHR _1.47 1.68 _1.91 , P <.0001). Post-DAA, HCV treatment was not associated with death (aHR _0.34 0.67 _1.32 , P =.25) or graft failure (aHR _0.32 0.64 _1.26 , P =.20) in D+R+ LT recipients. Treatment increased in D+R+ KT recipients (5.5% pre-DAA vs 12.9% post-DAA), but did not differ by payer status. DAAs reduced the risk of death after D+/R+ KT by 57% ( _0.19 0.43 _0.95 , P =.04) and graft loss by 46% ( _0.27 0.54 _1.07 , P =.08). HCV treatment with DAAs appears to improve HCV+ LT and KT outcomes; however, access to these medications appears limited in both LT and KT recipients.