Assessment of the Effectiveness of Direct-Acting Antiviral Therapy in Patients with Hepatitis C: A Follow-Up Analysis in Yazd, Iran

Background & Objective:  Treating hepatitis C as a serious liver disorder is often associated with many problems. Nowadays, Direct-Acting Antiviral (DAA) agents serve as a major remedy in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV). With regard to the limited information on the effect of using this treatment in different genotypes of the disease in our region, this study seeks to fill the research gap by evaluating the effect of new DAAs on different HCV genotypes in the city of Yazd.  Materials & Methods:  Fifty-one patients with different HCV genotypes were treated with Sofosbuvir (SOF) 400 mg + Daclutasvir (DCV) 60 mg and SOF 400 mg + ledipasvir (LDV) 90 regimens. The viral load was assessed in these cases 12 weeks after the end of therapy. Results:  In this study, the mean age of patients was 50.04 (± 10.53) years. Among the participants, the most observed genotype was type 1 (54.8%). The most current risk factor was drug use (47%). The analysis revealed that 78% of the patients had a sustained virological response (SVR). SVR rate in HCV was obtained as follows: genotype 1 (77.3%), genotype 2 (66.7%), genotype 3 (87.5%), genotype 4 (100%) and genotype 1+3 (75%). Conclusion: Overall, the application of DAAs has no side effects and induces relatively good therapeutic responses. However, the responses to the drugs used in this study have been lower than those reported in similar studies worldwide.

Assessment of the Effectiveness of Direct-Acting Antiviral Therapy in Patients with Hepatitis C: A Follow-Up Analysis in Yazd, Iran Keywords:

Sustained virological response , Direct-acting antiviral agents , Hepatitis C , Iran