SOFOSBUVIR AND RIBAVIRIN

Objectives: This study was conducted to evaluate the 16-weeks versus 24-weeks efficacy of sofosbuvir and ribavirin in HCV genotype-3a infection. Study Design: Open labeled, single center, longitudinal study. Setting: Khyber Medical College and Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar. Period: The total duration of study was 6-months, starting from January 2017 to July 2017. Methods: Eighty patients with HCV genotype-3a infection wereenrolled. Patients were assigned into 4-groups (20 patients in each group), including group-A as treatment naïve non-cirrhotic, group-B as treatment naïve with liver cirrhosis, group-C as non-cirrhotic but non-responder to peg-interferon and ribavirin and group-D as non-respondercirrhotic cases. Sofosbuvir plus ribavirin was given for 16-weeks and then extended to 24-weeks. The primary end point was end of treatment response with 16-weeks or 24-weeks therapy (EOT-16 or EOT-24), which is defined as HCV RNA level<40IU/ml after 16-weeks or 24-weeks oftherapy. Results: Out of all 80-patients, 50% (n=40) were male and 50% (n=40) were female, with mean age of 49±2 years. In all 80 cases, 67.5% (n=54/80) of patients have responded at 16 weeks, while 82.5% (n=66/80) of patients have responded to 24-weeks of therapy. In all 40 treatment naïve patients (group A and group B), 72.5% (n=29/40) have responded at 16 weeks, while 85% (n=34/40) of patients have responded to 24-weeks of therapy. Similarly, in all 40-previously non-responder cases (group C and group D), 62.5% (n=25/40) of patients have responded at 16 weeks, while 77.5% (n=31/40) of patients have responded to 24-weeks of therapy. Conclusion: Results of this study confirm that dual therapy given for 24-weeks is more effective compare to 16-weeks therapy in both treatment naïve and previously non-responder cases, which may be either cirrhotic or non-cirrhotic, with chronic hepatitis-C genotype-3a infections.