Direct-Acting Antivirals in Chronic Hepatitis C Genotype 4 Infection in Community Care Setting

BACKGROUND: Limited data exists comparing the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) in patients with chronic hepatitis C genotype 4 (HCV GT-4) in the community practice setting. We aim to evaluate the treatment response of DAAs in these patients. METHODS: All the HCV GT-4 patients treated with DAAs between January 2014 and October 2017 in a community clinic setting were retrospectively analyzed. Pretreatment baseline patient characteristics, treatment efficacy with sustained virologic response (SVR) at 12 weeks post treatment (SVR12), and adverse reactions were assessed. RESULTS: Fifty-two patients of Middle Eastern (primarily Egyptian) descent were included in the study. Thirty-two patients were treated with ledipasvir/sofosbuvir (Harvoni(®)) ± ribavirin, 12 patients were treated with ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir/dasabuvir (ViekiraPak(®)) ± ribavirin, and eight patients were treated with sofosbuvir/Velpatasvir (Epclusa(®)). Ten patients (19.2%) had compensated cirrhosis. Overall, SVR at 12 weeks was achieved in 94% in patients who received one of the three DAA regimens (93.8% in Harvoni(®) group, 91.7 % in ViekiraPak(®) group and 100% in Epclusa(®) group). Prior treatment status and type of regimen used in the presence of compensated cirrhosis had no statistical significance on overall SVR achievement (P value = 0.442 and P value = 0.091, respectively). The most common adverse effect was fatigue (27%). CONCLUSIONS: In the real-world setting, DAAs are effective and well tolerated in patients with chronic HCV GT-4 infection with a high overall SVR rate of 94%. Large-scale studies are needed to further assess this SVR in these groups.