Effectiveness of Sofosbuvir and Ribavirin for Eradicating Hepatitis C Virus in Renal Transplant Recipients in Pakistan: Where Resources Are Scarce.

Abstract

Although direct-acting antiviral agents have revolutionized hepatitis C virus treatment, these novel agents are not widely available in the developing world. Further, no treatment recommendation for renal transplant recipients includes these agents. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of sofosbuvir and ribavirin, the only direct-acting antiviral agents available in Pakistan, in renal transplant recipients. All renal transplant recipients receiving sofosbuvir and ribavirin from August 2015 to March 2016 were enrolled in the study. Patients' demographics and baseline laboratory parameters were collected. Rapid virologic response, early virologic response, end-of-treatment response, and sustained virologic response at 12 and 24 weeks were analyzed. Statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics software, version 20.0. Of the 37 renal transplant recipients, the mean age was 37.2 ± 10.7 years and the majority (33 [89.2% ]) were men. Twenty-five patients were treatment naive; of the remaining 12 patients, 10 were responders, 2 were nonresponders, and 5 were relapsers to pretransplant hepatitis C treatment. The genotype most commonly seen posttransplant was genotype 1 (56.8%). Rapid virologic response was achieved in 33 patients (89.2%). Early virologic response, end-oftreatment response, and sustained virologic response at 12 weeks were achieved in all 37 patients (100%). Until the time of data collection, 14 patients had achieved a sustained virologic response at 24 weeks. No complications were noted during therapy. In 2 of 4 patients who developed decompensated cirrhosis, treatment led to the resolution of ascites. Sofosbuvir and ribavirin are well tolerated and effective in renal transplant recipients for eradicating hepatitis C virus. Their effectiveness is not limited to renal transplant recipients with genotypes 1, 2, 3, and 4 but also extends to those with mixed genotype (in this study, genotypes 1 and 3).