Improvements in liver transplant outcomes in patients with HCV/HIV coinfection after the introduction of direct-acting antiviral therapies.

BACKGROUND

In recipients with HCV/HIV coinfection, the impact that the wider use of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) has had on post-liver transplant (LT) outcomes has not been evaluated. We investigated the impact of DAAs introduction on post-LT outcome in patients with HCV/HIV coinfection.

METHODS

Using Organ Procurement and Transplant Network/United Network for Organ Sharing data, we compared post-LT outcomes in patients with HCV and/or HIV pre- and post-DAAs introduction. We categorized these patients into two eras: pre-DAA (2008-2012 [pre-DAA era]) and post-DAA (2014-2019 [post-DAA era]). To study the impact of DAAs introduction, inverse probability of treatment weighting was used to adjust patient characteristics.

RESULTS

A total of 17 215 LT recipients were eligible for this study (HCV/HIV [n = 160]; HIV mono-infection [n = 188]; HCV mono-infection [n = 16 867]). HCV/HIV coinfection and HCV mono-infection had a significantly lower hazard of 1- and 3-year graft loss post-DAA, compared pre-DAA (1-year: adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.29, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.16-0.53 in HIV/HCV, aHR 0.58, 95% CI 0.54-0.63, respectively; 3-year: aHR 0.30, 95% CI 0.14-0.61, aHR 0.64, 95% CI 0.58-0.70, respectively). The hazards of 1- and 3-year graft loss post-DAA in HIV mono-infection were comparable to those in pre-DAA. HCV/HIV coinfection had significantly lower patient mortality post-DAA, compared to pre-DAA (1-year: aHR 0.30, 95% CI 0.17-0.55; 3-year: aHR 0.31, 95% CI 0.15-0.63).

CONCLUSIONS

Post-LT outcomes in patients with coinfection significantly improved and became comparable to those with HCV mono-infection after introducing DAA therapy. The introduction of DAAs supports the use of LT in the setting of HCV/HIV coinfection.