ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Treatment with direct-acting antiviral drugs in interferon-free regimens is currently recommended for viral hepatitis C recurrence after liver transplantation. There are limited data regarding its results in this population, and no optimal treatment scheme has yet been singled out. METHODS: We report our real-world results in liver transplant (LT) recipients. All patients were hepatitis C virus (HCV) monoinfected and completed a 12-week treatment course, followed 12 weeks later by HCV polymerase chain reaction testing with 12 IU/mL sensibility. Liver fibrosis was graded with the use of biopsies taken <12 months before treatment and stratified as early (0-1) or moderate to advanced (2-4) according to the Metavir score. RESULTS: Median postoperative time was 5.2 years. Genotype 3 was found in 66.7% of the sample. The following regimens were prescribed: daclatasvir-sofosbuvir with (n = 11) or without (n = 28) ribavirin. Genotypes 1 and 3 were evenly distributed between the regimens. Sustained virologic response (SVR) was obtained in 24 out of 28 patients (85.7%) who received daclatasvir-sofosbuvir and in all patients (100%) who received daclatasvir-sofosbuvir-ribavirin (global SVR 89.7%). All patients that failed treatment had genotype 3 HCV. Fibrosis was evaluated in 79.5% of the sample: 48.4% had early and 51.6% had moderate to advanced fibrosis, for which ribavirin was more commonly prescribed (P = .001). CONCLUSIONS: The SVR rate in our LT recipients was similar to that previously reported in the literature. The addition of ribavirin to DAA treatment appears to be justified in this population.
