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Predictors of treatment response in patients with hepatitis C 1b genotype

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Central European Journal of Medicine

Abstract

Background

The aim of the study was to analyse the predictive host and viral factors of sustained virological response (SVR) in Estonian patients with chronic hepatitis C genotype 1b.

Methods

A total of 76 outpatients (44 males and 32 females, aged 21–63 years) were enrolled in the single-centre prospective study. The patients received 180 µg of Peg-IFN α-2α weekly plus daily weight-based ribavirin (1000–1200 mg/day).

Results

The SVR was achieved in 50% of the patients, 43.4% of the patients were referred to as non-SVR. The SVR and the non-SVR patients differed significantly in terms of age (p=0.012), stage of fibrosis (p=0.012), grade of inflammatory activity (p=0.002), platelet count (p=0.005), gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) level (p=0.028), as well as a decrease of the viral load at weeks 4 and 12 more than 3.59 log10 IU/ml and 5.98 log10 IU/ml (P<0.01), respectively.

Conclusion

Age below 40 years, absence of or mild and moderate fibrosis, absence of severe inflammation activity, normal platelet count and normal GGT level, and pronounced changes in viral kinetics at weeks 4 and 12, were valuable predictors of better response to peginterferon alfa plus ribavirin treatment in Estonian patients with chronic hepatitis C genotype 1b.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Internal Medicine, West-Tallinn Central Hospital, Paldiski Road 68, 10617, Tallinn, Estonia

    Vadim Brjalin

  2. Department of Internal Medicine, University of Tartu, L. Puusepa 6, 51014, Tartu, Estonia

    Vadim Brjalin & Riina Salupere

  3. Department of Virology, National Institute for Health Development, Hiiu 42, 11619, Tallinn, Estonia

    Tatjana Tallo, Tatiana Kuznetsova, Ljudmilla Priimägi & Valentina Tefanova

  4. Department of Diagnostics and Vaccine, Unit for Molecular Typing, Swedish Institute for Communicable Disease Control, Nobels väg 18, 17182, Solna, Sweden

    Tatjana Tallo

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  1. Vadim Brjalin
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  2. Riina Salupere
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  6. Valentina Tefanova
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Correspondence to Vadim Brjalin.

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Brjalin, V., Salupere, R., Tallo, T. et al. Predictors of treatment response in patients with hepatitis C 1b genotype. cent.eur.j.med 8, 822–829 (2013). https://doi.org/10.2478/s11536-013-0221-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/s11536-013-0221-2

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