Outcome of Treatment in Children With Chronic Viral Hepatitis C: A Single Centre Study

Objective To review the efficacy of the combination of pegylated interferon-α 2b and ribavirin, and sofosbuvir and ribavirin in achieving sustained viral response (SVR) in chronic hepatitis C genotypes 1 and 3 in children. Methods A retrospective descriptive study was performed for children under 15 years of age treated for chronic hepatitis C at Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute and Research Centre, Lahore, between 2018 and 2019. Demographic data and clinical information were collected. In addition, treatment outcome was assessed by SVR, defined as the absence of detectable viral RNA in blood after 24 weeks of initiation of treatment. Results A total of 30 children aged 15 years and below were included in this study. Sixteen of 30 children were males, and 14 were females. Of these 30 patients, four had hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1, and 26 children had HCV genotype 3. The children with genotype 1 (a+b) were given the combination of ribavirin and pegylated interferon alfa-2b (Peg-IFN-α-2b). The remaining with HCV genotype 3 were given the combination of ribavirin and sofosbuvir for 24 weeks. Overall, 27 out of 30 (90%) children attained SVR at six months (100% children with genotype 1 and 88.4% children with genotype 3). Conclusion The combined therapy of ribavirin and sofosbuvir or Peg-IFN-α-2b and ribavirin is highly effective in treating chronic HCV infection in children.