Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Predictor factors of sustained virological response in patients with chronic hepatitis C treated with current direct-acting antiviral drugs

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Accepted: 18 August 2020 Published: 30 September 2020

Citation: Predictor factors of sustained virological response in patients with chronic hepatitis C treated with current direct-acting antiviral drugs. Trop J Pharm Res 2020; 19(9):2015-2020 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v19i9.30

© 2020 The authors.
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Abstract

Purpose: To assess the efficacy and predictors of treatment response of chronic hepatitis C genotype 4 Egyptian patients with sofosbuvir and daclatasvir, with or without ribavirin.

Methods: This prospective study enrolled 200 patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 4 infection who received sofosbuvir plus daclatasvir for 12 weeks, with the addition of ribavirin for treating cirrhotic patients. Immunological parameters such as natural killer (NK) cell percentage, phenotype, and serum C-X-C motif chemokine 10 (CXCL10) were evaluated prior to treatment and at the end of the treatment.

Results: Overall, 92.5 % of the patients achieved sustained virological response at 12 weeks (SVR12), where the non-cirrhotic group had 96.29 % SVR12, while the cirrhotic group had 84.61 % SVR12. Non-responders had lower pretreatment platelet count, higher CXCL10 levels, and lower baseline frequencies of NK cells and NK subgroup CD56^- CD16⁺.

Conclusion: Based on these results, the use of sofosbuvir plus daclatasvir with or without ribavirin for 12 weeks, is an effective regimen in the treatment of Egyptian patients infected with genotype 4 HCV. The predictors of non-response are advanced age, liver cirrhosis, lower pretreatment platelet count, higher level of CXCL10, lower baseline NK cells frequency and percentage of the dysfunctional subset CD56^- CD16⁺.

Keywords: Hepatitis C virus, Genotype 4, Sofosbuvir, Daclatasvir, Sustained virological response