Treatment of Hepatitis C Virus Infection in the HIV- Infected Patients by Pegylated Interferon and Ribavirin in Tehran, Iran

Considering reductions in AIDS-related mortalities following effective anti-retroviral treatments in HIV/AIDS patients, HCV-associated liver diseases have turned into a major concern for HIV/HCV co-infected patients. The present study aims at determining SVR rates in HIV/HCV co-infected patients under pegylated interferon and ribavirin treatment referring to Tehran Imam Khomeini hospital during 2010 - 2013.
In this descriptive cross-sectional study, all HIV/HCV co-infected patients under pegilated interferon and ribavirin treatment referring to Tehran Imam Khomeini Hospital during 2010 - 2013 entered the study. The variables include demographic information, genotype, liver involvement stage in biopsy, viral load levels prior to treatment, 4th, 12th, and 48th week as well as 6 months after treatment (sustained virologic response (SVR)), and CD4 count every 3 months.
In the total of 28 male HIV/HCV co-infected patients of this study, 21.4% and 78.6% received peg IFN alfa- 2b, and pegIFN alfa- 2a, respectively. There were 17 genotype I (61%), 9 (32%) genotype III, and 2 (7%) genotype II among the patients. The overall SVR rate of the patients was 67.8%; it was 52.9% in genotype I and 72.7% in genotypes II and III. Despite the CD4 count decline during treatment, opportunistic infections were not observed in any of the patients
SVR rates in this study are higher than studies conducted in other countries and this implies the possibility of a more favorable genetic trait in Iranian HCV patients responding to pegIFN and ribavirin. That is still the proper regimen due to high price of free interferon regimens in Iran.