Sofosbuvir and Ribavirin for Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis C in Patients Coinfected With Hepatitis C Virus and HIV: The Impact on Patient-Reported Outcomes.

backgroundSofosbuvir-containing regimens have been approved for treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients. We assessed the effect of treatment with sofosbuvir and ribavirin on patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in individuals with HIV/HCV coinfection.

methodsHIV/HCV-coinfected patients were treated for 12 or 24 weeks with sofosbuvir and ribavirin. Matched HCV-monoinfected controls were also evaluated. All subjects completed standard PRO questionnaires before, during, and after treatment.

resultsIncluded were 497 participants from the PHOTON-1 and PHOTON-2 clinical trials. At baseline, more impairment in PRO scores was noted in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients, compared with HCV-monoinfected patients. During treatment, moderate decrements in PRO scores (change, up to -6.8% on a 0%-100% scale; P = .0053) were experienced regardless of treatment duration and were similar to those for HCV-monoinfected patients (all P > .05). In 413 HIV/HCV-coinfected patients with a virologic response sustained for 12 weeks after treatment cessation, most PRO scores improved (change, up to +7.6%; P < .0001), similar to findings for HCV-monoinfected patients. In multivariate analysis, in addition to clinico-demographic predictors, coinfection with HIV was associated with PRO impairment at baseline (beta, up to -7.6%; P < .002) but not with treatment-emergent changes in PRO scores (all P > .05).

conclusionsPatients with HIV/HCV coinfection tolerate interferon-free sofosbuvir-based anti-HCV regimens well and, despite the presence of some baseline impairment, have treatment-emergent changes in PRO scores that are similar to those of patients with HCV monoinfection. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION: NCT01667731 (PHOTON-1), NCT01783678 (PHOTON-2), NCT01604850 (FUSION), and NCT01682720 (VALENCE).