Durability of sustained virological response and long term follow up to pegylated interferon and ribavirin in treated patients with chronic hepatitis C

Abstract EN

Objective : To study the clinical, biochemical and virological long-term outcome in chronic hepatitis C patients with a Sustained Virological Response after Pegylated Interferon plus ribavirin combination therapy.

Methods : Twenty eight patients with a Sustained Virological Response after treatment with Pegylated Interferon plus ribavirin were included in a 5-year follow-up study in a single Gastroenterology & Hepatology center, based on standard clinical practice.

Clinical and ultrasonic evaluation, liver function tests, alpha-fetoprotein and hepatitis C virus RNA by PCR were performed annually for a period of 5 years.

Results : The mean follow-up period of the 28 patients was 67 ± 4 months after they obtained a sustained virological response.

Eleven patients (39.2 %) presented with high fibrosis score (Metavir >3) before treatment.

Seventeen patients (60.7 %) had genotype 4, nine patients (32.1 %) genotype 1, one patient genotype 2 and one patient genotype 3.

One patient (3.5 %) showed evidence of hepatic decompensation.

One patient (3.5 %) showed virological relapse after achieving sustained virological response.

At the end of the 5-year follow-up there were no deaths, no elevation in liver function tests and no hepatocellular carcinoma.

Conclusion : The long-term outcome of patients with sustained virological response to Pegylated Interferon plus ribavirin was maintained in 96.5% with one patient having virological relapse, indicating that Long term recurrence rate to combination therapy was very low.