Interferon-free regimens in patients with hepatitis C infection and renal dysfunction or kidney transplantation.

Interferon-free regimens in patients with hepatitis C infection and renal dysfunction or kidney transplantation. World J Hepatol. 2017 Feb 08;9(4):180-190 Authors: Cholongitas E, Pipili C, Papatheodoridis GV Abstract Treatment of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and chronic hepatitis C (CHC) differs from that used in the general CHC population mostly when glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is below 30 mL/min, as sofosbuvir, the backbone of several current regimens, is officially contraindicated. Given that ribavirin free regimens are preferable in CKD, elbasvir/grazoprevir is offered in CHC patients with genotype 1 or 4 and ombitasvir/paritaprevir and dasabuvir in genotype 1b for 12 wk. Although regimens containing peginterferon with or without ribavirin are officially recommended for patients with CKD and genotype 2, 3, 5, 6, such regimens are rarely used because of their low efficacy and the poor safety and tolerance profile. In this setting, especially in the presence of advanced liver disease, sofosbuvir-based regimens are often used, despite sofosbuvir contraindication. It seems to have good overall safety with only 6% or 3.4% of CKD patients to discontinue therapy or develop serious adverse events without drug discontinuation. In addition, sustained virological response (SVR) rates with sofosbuvir based regimens in CKD patients appear to be comparable with SVR rates in patients with normal renal function. Treatment reco...
Source: World Journal of Hepatology - Category: Gastroenterology Tags: World J Hepatol Source Type: research