A safety and efficacy analysis of direct-antiviral therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C after renal transplantation.

Background: To explore the safety and efficacy of direct antiviral therapy in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection after renal transplantation.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical information of 15 cases of HCV patients treated with direct antiviral therapy after renal transplantation in our center. The effectiveness of direct antiviral therapy was evaluated by analyzing the HCV-RNA levels of patients at 1, 4, 12, 24, and 48 weeks before and after antiviral therapy. In addition, parameters including the rejection rate, the blood concentration of anti-rejection drugs, liver function level [alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST)], estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and serum creatinine (CREA) levels were used to assess its safety.

Results: A total of 15 patients were enrolled in the study. All patients turned HCV-RNA negative after 12 weeks of direct-antiviral therapy; the serological test of all patients demonstrated an 100% response rate in rapid virological response (RVR) (15/15), 12-week sustained virological response (SVR12), and 24-week sustained virological response (SVR24). In addition, compared to pre-treatment, the liver function within 12, 24, and 48 weeks after treatment was significantly improved. Moreover, eGFR, CREA, and anti-rejection drug concentration remained stable while acute rejection reaction and other obvious side effects were not observed throughout the treatment period.

Conclusions: The direct antiviral therapy was well-tolerated and effective for patients with chronic hepatitis C after renal transplantation.