COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN PEG-IFN BASED REGIMEN (PEG-IFN / SOFOSBUVIR / RIBAVIRIN) AND PEG-IFN FREE REGIMENS (SOFOSBUVIR / SIMEPREVIR) - (SOFOSBUVIR / RIBAVIRIN) IN EGYPTIAN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC HCV INFECTION.

Mahmoud Ezzat Elmashad*, Assem Mahmoud Elsherif, Magdy Abdelkarim Eldahshan,
Mohammed Salah Ali and Abdelhalim Assem Mahmoud

ABSTRACT

Annually about 150 million people worldwide have chronic hepatitis C viral (HCV) infection. Advances in the molecular biology of the HCV replication life cycle have led to the discovery of several molecules that specifically block various viral proteins and globally called direct-acting antiviral (DAA) agents. We aimed to evaluate of the efficacy and safety of Peg-IFN based triple regimen (Peg-IFN / Sofosbuvir / Ribavirin) versus Peg-IFN free regimens including (Sofosbuvir/Simeprevir) and (Sofosbuvir/Ribavirin) in adult Egyptian patients with chronic HCV genotype 4. We prospectively enrolled 920 patients from Internal Medicine Departments of Ahmed Maher and Al-Hussein University hospitals, Cairo, Egypt, only one hundred and fifty (150) adult patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection were included in the study. Patients were divided into 3 groups treated with Pegylated interferon plus Sofosbuvir plus Ribavirin (group A), Sofosbuvir plus Simeprevir (group B) and Sofosbuvir plus Ribavirin (group C) respectively. In group A, the percent of patients who achieved SVR12 were 86.5% for naïve, 81.5% for experienced and 84% for the all (naïve and experienced). In group B, the percent of patients who achieved SVR12 were 94% for naïve, 90% for experienced and 92% for the all (naïve and experienced). In group C, the SVR12 rates were 84% for naïve, 72% for experienced and 78% for the all (naïve and experienced). In conclusion, the sustained virological response 12 weeks after treatment among the three studied groups are nearly the same with no statistically significant difference but only group B (Sofosbuvir plus Simeprevir) regimen gave good results with shorter duration and less adverse events compared with other regimens.

Keywords: HCV, Hepatitis C Virus; DAAs: Direct Anti-Viral Agents.