Liver transplant and hepatitis C in methadone maintenance therapy: a case report.
Methadone maintenance therapy for the treatment of opioid dependence continues to carry a social stigma. Until recently, patients on methadone were not considered for liver transplantation. We describe the first case of a patient on methadone who received a liver transplant for end stage liver disease and was successfully treated for recurrent hepatitis C. More than five years post transplant and three years post viral clearance, the patient continues to do well and is stable on low-dose methadone. This case emphasizes the need to reconsider the non-evidence based policy adopted by transplant centers that require methadone maintenance therapy patients to stop methadone prior to consideration for transplant evaluation.
Hancock
Meredith M
MM
Section of Transplant Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of California Davis Medical Center, 4150 V Street, PSSB, Suite 3500, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA. mhancock@lumc.edu
Prosser
Colette C
CC
Ransibrahmanakul
Kanat
K
Lester
Laura
L
Craemer
Elana
E
Bourgeois
James A
JA
Rossaro
Lorenzo
L
D000328:Adult; D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007372:Interferons / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D008297:Male; D008691:Methadone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012254:Ribavirin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D055502:Secondary Prevention; D019562:Viral Load
D000701:Analgesics, Opioid; D000998:Antiviral Agents; D012254:Ribavirin; D007372:Interferons; D008691:Methadone