IntroductionThis study compares the expected occurrence of contraindicated drug–drug interactions (XDDIs) when simeprevir (SIM)- or sofosbuvir (SOF)-containing therapy is added to medication profiles of patients with hepatitis C (HCV) monoinfection to quantify, in relative terms, the population-based risk of XDDIs. Second, this study identified the predictors of XDDIs when HCV therapies are added to medication profiles.MethodsA cross-sectional study was performed among Veterans’ Affairs patients. Inclusion criteria were: (1) age ≥18 years, (2) HCV infection, and (3) availability of a medication list. Patients with human immunodeficiency virus were excluded. Demographics, comorbidities, year of HCV diagnosis, and most recent medication list were collected from medical records. The primary outcome was the presence of XDDIs involving HCV therapy and the medications in the patient’s home medication list after the addition of either SIM- or SOF-containing regimens. To define XDDIs, Lexi-Interact drug interaction software was used.Results4,251 patients were included. The prevalence of XDDIs involving SIM- or SOF-containing therapy were 12.6% and 4.7% (p < 0.001), respectively. In multivariable analyses examining the predictors of XDDIs involving SIM-containing therapy, the only medication-related predictor was use of ≥6 home medications (odds ratio OR 4.58, 95% confidence interval CI 3.54–5.20, p < 0.001). Similarly, use of ≥6 home medications was also the only variable associated with an increased probability of XDDI involving SOF-containing therapy (OR 3.83, 95% CI 2.57–5.70, p < 0.001).ConclusionsSofosbuvir-containing therapy had a lower frequency of XDDIs than SIM-containing therapy. Polypharmacy with various classes of home medications predicted XDDIs involving SIM- or SOF-containing therapy.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s40121-015-0058-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The objectives were to (1) compare the frequency of contraindicated drug-drug interactions (XDDI) when simeprevir (SIM)- and sofosbuvir (SOF)-containing regimens are theoretically added to a patient's medication profile; (2) identify which hepatitis C (HCV) regimen is associated with the lowest frequency of XDDIs within different types of antiretroviral treatment (ART) regimens; and (3) determine the risk factors for XDDIs with each regimen. A cross-sectional study was performed among adult HIV/HCV-coinfected patients. Demographics, comorbidities, and medication lists were collected from medical records. Medication lists were entered into Lexi-Interact drug interaction software and XDDI before/after the addition of SIM- and SOF-containing therapy was documented. Classification and regression tree (CART) analyses identified breakpoints in continuous variables. Before the addition of any HCV therapy, XDDIs were present in 20% of the 335 included patients. After the addition of SIM-containing therapy, the frequency of XDDIs significantly increased to 88.4% (p<0.001). After adding SOF-containing therapy, the prevalence of XDDIs increased to 24.5% (p<0.001). The prevalence of XDDIs was significantly lower for SOF-containing HCV therapy within various types of ART regimens. Use of ≥7 non-HIV medications (CART breakpoint) was the only variable to predict XDDIs before the addition of any HCV therapy. Similarly, this was the only variable to predict XDDIs after the addition of SOF-containing therapy (PR: 4.80; 95% CI: 2.57-8.96, p<0.001). Variables independently associated with XDDIs after the addition of SIM-containing therapy were NNRTI regimen (prevalence ratio, PR: 1.62; 95% confidence interval, CI: 1.38-1.91, p<0.001), PI regimen (PR: 1.64; 95% CI: 1.40-1.93, p<0.001), and ≥7 non-HIV medications (PR: 1.06; 95% CI: 1.00-1.14, p=0.09). The addition of SOF-containing therapy was associated with a lower prevalence of XDDI than SIM-containing therapy.

The aim of this study was to assess the fertility characteristics and family planning methods in the city of Elazig, Turkey. This cross-sectional descriptive study included all the women who had delivered babies at the Elazig Firat Medical Center Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic. Across the entire group, the mean number of pregnancies was found to be 2.98 ± 1.89. Among the family planning methods used, the first choice of most women was the condom, which ranked first with 32.2%; the oral contraceptive ranked second with 15.1%. The question, 'Have you ever used any contraceptive methods?' was asked and 55.4% answered 'yes'. The most common method was condom use. The most common method of contraception used by married women for the first time was the condom, and the most common method used during marriage was, again, the condom.