ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the epidemiological features and antiviral response of patients with genotype 6 chronic hepatitis C (CHC) in Guangxi, China. Methods A total of 97 patients with genotype 6 CHC who were admitted to The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University from December 2012 to December 2020 were enrolled, among whom 62 patients were given antiviral therapy. The 62 patients receiving antiviral therapy were divided into interferon group with 22 patients and direct-acting antiviral agent (DAA) group with 40 patients. Related data were collected, including general demographic data, HCV RNA, liver function, routine blood test results, and renal function. The chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups. Results Among the 97 patients, there were 69 male patients (71.1%) and 28 female patients (28.9%), with a mean age of 41.97±10.12 years, and the patients aged 30-40 years accounted for 47.4% (46/97). Of all 97 patients, 95 (97.9%) had genotype 6a, 1 had genotype 6e, and 1 had genotype 6xa. Among the 65 patients with a definite route of infection, 41 (63.1%) had intravenous drug use, 14 had medical-related operations, 9 had blood transfusion, and 4 had sexual contact as the route of infection. For the interferon group, the rapid virologic response (RVR) rate at week 4 was 81.8% (18/22), the rate of undetectable virus at the time of drug withdrawal (Epoint) was 86.4% (19/22), the rate of sustained virologic response at 12 weeks after drug withdrawal (SVR12) was 81.8%, and the rate of sustained virological response at 24 weeks after drug withdrawal (SVR24) was 81.8%; 1 patient in this group experienced recurrence. All 40 patients in the DAA group were previously untreated patients (33 patients without liver cirrhosis and 7 patients with compensated liver cirrhosis), with an overall RVR rate of 87.5%(35/40), an Epoint rate of 100%, and an SVR12 rate of 100%, and there was no treatment failure or recurrence. Although different DAA regimens had different RVR rates, they all had a SVR12 rate of 100%. The patients with compensated liver cirrhosis and other diseases had a SVR12 rate of 100%. Conclusion Intravenous drug addiction is the main route of infection for patients with genotype 6 CHC in Guangxi, and CHC is more common in men, with genotype 6a as the main subtype. DAA treatment has a higher virologic response rate than interferon treatment, with an SVR12 rate of 100%. There is no significant difference in SVR12 rate between the patients with compensated liver cirrhosis and those without liver cirrhosis.