Focus on the treatment of chronic hepatitis C in children / 临床肝胆病杂志

ABSTRACT

Chronic hepatitis C in children has an insidious onset and has few available treatment options.Pegylated interferon alpha (Peg-IFNα) combined with ribavirin (RBV),known as the PR regimen for short,used to be the standard regimen;however,treatment response is often affected by various factors including hepatitis C virus genotype,viral load,and host gene polymorphisms,and some children cannot tolerate the adverse reactions of PR regimen.HCV GuidanceRecommendations for Testing,Managing,and Treating Hepatitis C developed by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (AASLD/IDSA) in September,2017 recommended that direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) can be used for children with hepatitis C who are aged above 12 years or have a body weight of ≥35 kg.Sofosbuvir combined with ledipasvir is the recommended regimen for children with genotype 1,4,5,or 6 infection,and sofosbuvir combined with RBV is recommended for children with genotype 2 or 3 infection.The course of disease is 12 weeks for previously untreated children with genotype 1 infection,children with genotype 1 infection who were treated by IFNα and do not have liver cirrhosis,or children with genotype 2,4,5,or 6 infection,and 24 weeks for children with genotype 1 infection who were treated by IFNα and have liver cirrhosis or children with genotype 3 infection.Further studies are needed to investigate the type of DAAs used in children with chronic hepatitis C aged ＜ 12 years,related regimens,and their safety.As for special populations including children with chronic hepatitis C complicated by HIV infection and those treated by liver transplantation,individualized treatment regimens should be developed with reference to the status of HIV infection and complications of liver transplantation.