Factors That Influence the Virological Response in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C Treated with Pegylated Interferon and Ribavirin

Abstract

Introduction: The success of the antiviral treatment in patients with chronic hepatitis C depends on the factors related to the virus and the host. The aim of the study is the analysis of the antiviral therapy which is a combination of pegylated interferon and ribavirin, considering various factors that will identify the predictors of the sustained virological response.

Material and methods: This retrospective study included 226 patients, divided in two groups. Patients with sustained virological response and patients without sustained virological response were compared in terms of the following factors: genotype, viral load, gender, age, inflammatory and fibrotic changes in the liver, metabolic abnormalities, obesity and fatty liver.

Results: The rate of the sustained virological response is 83.6%, more frequently in patients with genotype 3, with evidenced statistical significance (90.54%). The factors that significantly contribute to sustained virological response are related to the age (p = 0.0001), genotype (p = 0.002), mode of transmission (p = 0.005), inflammatory changes in the liver (p = 0.028), body mass index (p = 0.022) and insulin resistance (p = 0.039). The high rate of sustained virological response is related to the younger age of the patients which indirectly means short Hepatitis C Virus infection duration, absence of advanced liver disease and lack of significant co-morbid conditions. Single confirmed independent predictors of sustained virological response are the age (OR 0.928, p = 0.0001) and genotype (OR 3.134, p = 0.005).

Conclusions: Factors that are related to the virological response are the age, genotype, mode of transmission, inflammatory changes in the liver, body mass index and insulin resistance, but still, independent predictors of sustained virologic response are the age and the genotype.

Keywords: Chronic viral hepatitis C; pegylated interferon and ribavirin; predictors of virological response; sustained virological response.