Five-Year Prospective Follow-Up of Patients with Hepatitis C Virus Infection Treated with Direct-Acting Antiviral Agents.

Abstract

Purpose: The research intended to present prospective data on the long-term prognosis of individuals with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection who received direct-acting antiviral agent (DAA) treatment.

Patients and methods: Patients who received DAA treatment at Tianjin Third Central Hospital and Tianjin Second People's Hospital were prospectively enrolled and subsequently underwent a longitudinal follow-up. This research monitored occurrences of virological relapse, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), mortality, and liver disease progression. The annualized incidence rates (AIRs), cumulative incidence rates of adverse events and risk factors were investigated. Changes in liver stiffness measurement (LSM), aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI) score, fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index, as well as the albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) scores were also documented.

Results: A total of 862 individuals were followed up for 4.86 (P₂₅, P₇₅; 4.48, 5.48) years. The proportion of all participants with undetectable HCV-RNA exceeded 98% at all follow-up time points. Patients experienced virological relapse, HCC, death and disease progression with a cumulative AIRs of 1.03% (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.6-1.5), 1.76% (95% CI 1.2-2.3), 1.51% (95% CI 1.0-2.0), and 5.81% (95% CI 4.8-6.8), respectively. Cirrhotic patients were at a heightened risk of virological relapse (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 3.20, 95% CI 1.59-9.75; p = 0.016), HCC (aHR 6.57, 95% CI 2.66-16.28; p < 0.0001), and unfavorable prognosis (aHR 6.93, 95% CI 2.56-18.74; p < 0.0001). Additionally, patients with diabetes faced an elevated risk of HCC (aHR 2.33, 95% CI 1.05-5.15; p = 0.038) and poor prognosis (aHR 2.72, 95% CI 1.13-6.55; p = 0.026). Furthermore, liver stiffness measurement (LSM) exhibited a significant decrease compared to baseline. Additionally, patients in the cirrhosis group showed reductions in APRI score, FIB-4 index and ALBI score to different degrees.

Conclusion: Cirrhotic patients exhibited increased susceptibility to virological relapse, HCC, unfavorable prognosis, and liver disease progression following DAA treatment. Consequently, it is imperative to implement a rigorous monitoring protocol for all cirrhotic patients after DAA treatment.