Implications for Hepatitis C Treatment and Disease Progression in an HIV/HCV Co-Infected Population

Implications for Hepatitis C Treatment and Disease Progression in an HIV/HCV Co-Infected Population

Morbidity and mortality rates from chronic liver disease secondary to hepatitis C virus (HCV) have become a significant issue for HIV infected patients. U.S. Department of Health and Human Service guidelines recommend HCV treatment for all coinfected patients without decompensated liver disease. Telaprevir and boceprevir are direct-acting agents (DAAs) recently approved for HCV genotype-1 mono-infection and have demonstrated marked improvements in viral suppression when combined with peg-interferon/ribavirin as triple therapy. Identification of co-infected patients who could benefit from HCV treatment is a necessary component of quality HIV care.