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Mortazavi S, Hynicka LM. Utility of On-Treatment Viral Loads During Treatment With Direct-Acting Antivirals in Patients Infected With Chronic Viral Hepatitis C. J Pharm Technol 2022; 38:213-217. [DOI: 10.1177/87551225221092598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Direct-acting antiviral (DAA) agents have revolutionized the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Current data regarding the utility of on-treatment HCV viral load (VL) monitoring are conflicting and limited data are available in HIV-coinfected patients. Objective: The objective of the study was to determine whether on-treatment VLs are predictive of HCV cure in a real-world population. Method: A single-center, retrospective cohort study was conducted using patients who received a prescription for DAA therapy for HCV treatment at a large, tertiary ambulatory care clinic. Results: A total of 219 patients were included in the final analysis. The average age was 56 years. Most patients were male (64.4%), African American (73.1%), and insured by Medicaid (61.6%). Most patients were treatment-naive, noncirrhotic, and infected with HCV genotype 1a (73.1%). About 22.4% of patients were coinfected with HIV. The most common regimen was 12 weeks of ledipasvir/sofosbuvir (53.9%). On-treatment VLs were most commonly obtained at treatment week 4 (42.5%), of which 45.2% of patients were detectable. Sustained virologic response (SVR) was achieved in 96.8% of the total population and 95.9% of HIV-coinfected patients. Of the 7 patients who did not achieve SVR, 3 patients had undetectable on-treatment VLs in the first 8 weeks of therapy. Conclusion: Sustained virologic response rates were similar between HCV-monoinfected patients and HCV-HIV-coinfected patients. This research further supports that on-treatment VLs may not be a valuable indicator of treatment failure but may be helpful to engage patients in care and ensure treatment adherence and ultimately cure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shila Mortazavi
- Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Lauren M. Hynicka
- Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD, USA
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