Safety and efficacy of combination therapy (Simeprevir/Sofosbuvir) in the treatment of chronic HCV genotype IV patients

Abstract

Chronic infection with HCV is a worldwide health problem that may lead to cirrhosis, portal hypertension, hepatocellular failure and hepatocellular carcinoma in most of cases. A new era in HCV treatment has been started using direct acting antiviral activity. In this study we assess the safety and efficacy of a combination therapy Sofosbuvir/Simprevir in the treatment of chronic HCV patients genotype IV either cirrhotic or non-cirrhotic. In the outpatient clinic, one hundred and seventy five chronic HCV patients were recruited from Tropical Medicine Department at Fayoum public hospital. A combination of Sofosbuvir (400 mg) and Simeprevir (150 mg) was administered for those patients once daily over a period of 12 weeks. All patients have been followed up for clinical and laboratory parameters and HCV PCR to evaluate the efficacy and safety of this therapy. Sustained Virologic Response rate (SVR12) were 97.7% (169/173) (primary end point), and same results obtained at the second end point (SVR 24). In this study, cirrhotic patients showed lower SVR (92.7%) compared to non-cirrhotic patients (98.5%) (p-value 0.085). Majority of patients (57.14%) reported adverse events (AEs) during treatment and most common AEs were headache, fatigue, pruritus, dizziness and photosensitivity. On the basis of the evidence currently available, it seems fair to suggest that the combination therapy of (SMV/SOF) in the treatment of chronic HCV genotype IV naïve and experienced patient whether cirrhotic or non-cirrhotic is safe and effective. This was evidenced by monitoring patients’ clinically and using hepatic parameters after drug administration. The adverse events affected patients were mild and tolerable among patients. [Med-Science 2018; 7(1.000): 122-126]

Keywords

• Chronic hepatitis C
• genotype IV
• simeprevir
• sofosbuvir