Background: Viral hepatitis C (HCV) is common in Benin. Untreated, it can\nbe complicated by cirrhosis and hepatocarcinoma, which are sources of death.\nThe objectives of this work were twofold: 1) to evaluate the effectiveness and\nsafety of treatment with classic dual interferon pegylated alpha-2a (IFN) and\nribavirin therapy in Benin, and 2) to present problems related to financial\naccessibility to this treatment. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive\nand analytical study, with a retrospective collection of data from November 1,\n2010 to December 31, 2015 and prospective collection from January 1, 2016\nto July 31, 2016 (7 months). We included all patients treated with IFN +\nribavirin for hepatitis C at CNHU/HKM. Sustained virological response\n(SVR) was defined as undetectable viral load C 6 months after stopping\ntreatment. Safety was appreciated by the search for clinical and hematological\nadverse effects. Results: One hundred and six patients were followed for\nHCV, of whom 58 (54.7%) undergoing treatment (26 under standard dual\ntherapy and 32 under direct-acting antivirals). Of the 26 patients under conventional\ndual therapy, 12 (46.1%) were genotype 1, 13 (50%) genotype 2\nand one (3.9%) genotype 4. In conventional dual therapy, SVR was achieved\nin 15 (57.7%) patients, including the genotype 4 patient, 4 out of 12 (33.3%)\ngenotype 1 patients, and 10 out of 13 (76.9%) for genotype 2 patients. The\nmost common side effects with this treatment were severe asthenia (23 cases),\nflu-like symptoms (22 cases), weight loss (21 cases) and neutropenia (22\ncases), anemia and thrombocytopenia (20 of 26 cases). The overall cost of\ntreatment per patient was 11,800,624 FCFA for genotypes 1 and 4; and 7,835,048 FCFA for genotype 2. Conclusion: The treatment of HCV with\nIFN + ribavirin in Benin is effective for genotype 2. But its adverse effects are\nmanifold and its cost is high. The switch to direct-acting antivirals (more\neffective, better tolerated and less expensive) was therefore necessary.
Loading....