Triple Therapy Highly Effective in Patients With Hepatitis C, Cirrhosis

Triple therapy with ribavirin plus sofosbuvir and daclatasvir increases the rate of sustained virologic response (SVR) achievement in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection complicated by cirrhosis, according to results of a study published in Annals of Medicine and Surgery.

Between February 2018 and June 2019, researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study to assess the effects of triple therapy with ribavirin plus sofosbuvir and daclatasvir on the rate of SVR achievement among patients with HCV infection at 2 tertiary care hospitals in Pakistan.

Among 359 patients included initially included in the study, 201 completed follow-up. Of these patients, 86 had cirrhosis and were included in the final analysis. The mean patient age was 50.6±10.65 years, 56.9% were women, and the mean FibroScan score was 24.20±12.45.

After completing triply therapy, 81 (95.2%) patients achieved a SVR and 5 (5.81%) did not achieve a SVR.

Factors significantly associated with SVR achievement among patients who did vs did not achieve a SVR included no family history of HCV-related hepatocellular carcinoma (n=84 vs n=3; P =.012), higher platelet counts (190.0×10¹¹/units vs 106.8×10¹¹/units; P =.0001), decreased concentrations of total bilirubin (1.02 mg/dL vs 2.74 mg/dL; P =.0001), and increased concentrations of albumin (3.73 g/dL vs 2.68 g/dL; P =.013).

This study was limited by its retrospective design, small sample size, and the number of patients lost to follow-up.

According to the researchers, “…studies with a much larger sample size and prospective study design are recommended to validate [these] results.”

Reference

Sheikh NT, Shaukat MT, Hussain A, et al. SVR achievement in triple therapy treated hepatitis C induced cirrhosis: a dual center retrospective cohort study. Ann Med Surg. Published online July 20, 2022. doi:10.1016/j.amsu.2022.104193.