The use of sofosbuvir for the treatment of recurrent hepatitis C after liver transplantation

Abstract

The article presents the experience of direct-acting antiviral (DAA) drug treatment for hepatitis C in the patients after liver transplantation. The end-stage liver disease caused by hepatitis C is the main indication for orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). In 2013, the first agent in the class of antiviral drugs directly acting on hepatitis C virus (HCV) was introduced into clinical practice. That was sofosbuvir, a HCV polymerase inhibitor, that could be used without interferon alfa. Materials and methods . The study enrolled 33 liver transplant recipients with recurrent hepatitis C. Thirty-five courses of antiviral therapy (AT) were conducted with sofosbuvir being one of AT components. Results. By the time of analysis, 21 patients had completed the antiviral therapy. All the patients showed an initial response to the antiviral therapy, HCV aviremia was achieved. In 3 patients, with the evaluable sustained virologic response (SVR), a renewed HCV replication was observed in the first weeks after the AT completion. Conclusion. The new direct-acting antiviral drugs offer an effective antiviral therapy to all liver graft recipients with recurrent HCV.