Comparison of the Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes between Leprosy-Affected Persons in Sorokdo and the General Population Affected by Chronic Hepatitis C in Korea.

Abstract

Background/Aims:

Patients with Hansen's disease are the most vulnerable to hepatitis C. However, no data on the treatment efficacy of direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) are available in this group. Therefore, we elucidated the prevalence and clinical outcomes of hepatitis C in persons affected by leprosy in Sorokdo, Jeollanam-do, Korea.

Methods:

We retrospectively included 50 leprosy patients with positive hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA test results (group A) hospitalized at the Sorokdo National Hospital from May 2016 to March 2018 and 73 patients with chronic hepatitis C who were treated with DAAs at the Chonnam National University Hospital (group B) from May 2016 to December 2017.

Results:

Overall, at the Sorokdo National Hospital, positive HCV antibody and HCV RNA rates were 18.4% and 11.0%, respectively. The mean participant age was 76.5±7 years, and 58% of participants were men. The genotypes were type 1b in 44% (22 out of 50) and type 2 in 56% (28 out of 50). Sustained virologic response was achieved at a rate of 95.5% (21/22) in genotype 1b and 92.9% (26/28) in genotype 2 patients. Ribavirin-induced hemolytic anemia occurred in 57.1% (16/28) of patients with genotype 2. Among these, 28.5% (8/28) received blood transfusions.

Conclusions:

Treatment efficacy was not different between the leprosy-affected population and the general population. However, severe ribavirin-induced hemolytic anemia requiring transfusion was present in 28.5% of genotype 2 patients. Therefore, we suggest ribavirin-free DAAs for the treatment of genotype 2 hepatitis C in leprosy-affected persons in the future.

• Authors: Young-Hwan Ahn, Hyungcheol Park, Myeon Jae Lee, Dong Hyun Kim, Sung Bum Cho, Eunae Cho, Chung Hwan Jun, Sung Kyu Choi
• Journal: Gut and liver (Gut Liver) Vol. 13 Issue 5 Pg. 549-556 (09 15 2019) ISSN: 2005-1212 [Electronic] Korea (South)
• PMID: 30970433 (Publication Type: Comparative Study, Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Antiviral Agents
• Ribavirin

Topics

• Aged
• Anemia, Hemolytic (chemically induced)
• Antiviral Agents (administration & dosage, adverse effects)
• Female
• Genotype
• Hepatitis C, Chronic (complications, drug therapy, epidemiology)
• Humans
• Leprosy (complications, epidemiology)
• Male
• Prevalence
• Republic of Korea (epidemiology)
• Retrospective Studies
• Ribavirin (administration & dosage, adverse effects)
• Sustained Virologic Response
• Treatment Outcome