Most patients prefer oral dual therapy in chronic hepatitis C

(HealthDay)—For patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC), most prefer oral therapy with sofosbuvir (SOF) and ribavirin (RBV) versus triple therapy involving pegylated interferon (PegIFN), according to a study published online Sept. 14 in the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Sandeep Satsangi, from the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh, India, and colleagues analyzed data from 158 patients with CHC treated with dual therapy (SOF + RBV) for 24 weeks or triple therapy (PegIFN + SOF + RBV) for 12 weeks.

The researchers found that the predominant genotype was genotype 3 (66.4 percent), followed by genotypes 1 and 4 (25.3 and 8.2 percent, respectively). Overall, 30.37 percent of patients had cirrhosis and 19 percent had received previous treatment with PegIFN + RBV. Within the cohort, 65.18 and 34.81 percent of patients received dual and triple therapy, respectively. Reasons for refusing triple therapy included resentment to receive injections, inaccessibility to a facility, fear of injection or its side effects, and financial constraints. All patients in the triple group and 98 percent in the dual therapy group attained end of treatment response (ETR). In both groups, all those who achieved ETR achieved sustained virological response at 12 weeks. Three patients (two in triple, one in dual therapy groups) had anemia; there were no other major side effects.

"Oral treatment with sofosbuvir plus ribavirin is preferred over interferon based triple therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C," the authors write.

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