Hepatitis B virus coinfection in patients treated for chronic hepatitis C: clinical characteristics, risk of reactivation with long-term follow-up, and effectiveness of antiviral therapy.

INTRODUCTION

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) share a similar transmission route, which increases coinfection odds and worsens clinical outcomes.

OBJECTIVES

Our aim was to investigate coinfected patients undergoing HCV treatment with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) to understand their characteristics, risk of HBV reactivation, and effectiveness of the therapy.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Our study comprehensively analyzed 1118 patients with chronic HCV infection, divided into 3 subgroups based on their HBV status.

RESULTS

We documented that 0.7% of the analyzed population was positive for hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg), while 14.3% had evidence of a past HBV infection. The patients without HBV coinfection were less burdened with comorbidities, and were mostly treatment-naive, while the individuals suffering from coinfection were younger and more likely to have a history of a previous therapy. Infection with HCV genotype 3 was more common among the HBsAg-positive patients than in the other studied groups. Response to DAA therapy was comparable between the groups, and most patients completed the course of treatment as planned. Only 3 cases of HBV reactivation were observed, all of which achieved sustained virologic response after DAA therapy. Two were women on immunosuppressants with antihepatitis B core positive antibodies, and the third patient was an HBsAgpositive man. These patients remained in long-term follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

Neither the presence of HBV markers nor HBV reactivation during DAA treatment reduced effectiveness of the therapy. Our findings are important for future recommendations and guidelines on managing HBV/HCV coinfection.