Evaluation of Non-invasive Scores Before and After Direct-acting Antiviral Treatment in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C

The sustained virological response is achieved in patients with chronic hepatitis C infection using direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy. However, it is not known whether there is a decrease in liver fibrosis level. Non-invasive serum scores are successful in determining the level of liver fibrosis before treatment. There are no adequate studies in the literature about the use of these scores after treatment. This study aimed to determine the change in inflammation and fibrosis levels after treatment by using non-invasive scores. Adult patients who applied to the Karabuk University Training and Research Hospital between January 2019 and January 2020 and used DAA treatment were included in the study. Clinical and laboratory findings of the cases were recorded retrospectively from the hospital information system. Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4), aspartate aminotransferase (AST)-platelet ratio index (APRI), γ glutamate transpeptidase-platelet ratio (GPR) and AST / ALT ratio scores were calculated before and after (24th week) treatment. Forty-two patients with a mean age of 56.4 were evaluated. 52% of these patients were women. All patients developed a sustained virological response. Genotype 1b was the most common (67 %). The most commonly used treatment regimen (60 %) was paritaprevir + ritonavir + ombitasvir + dasabuvir. After treatment compared to pretreatment, mean AST value decreased from 24.69 to 20.67, mean ALT value decreased from 20.57 to 15.31 and APRI from 0.33 to 0.29 (p=0.01; p=0.03; p=0.01, respectively). Although not statistically significant, FIB-4 was low after treatment. In conclusion, the use of non-invasive serum biomarker scores may be useful in the follow-up of chronic hepatitis C cases using DAA treatment.