BackgroundIn HIV infected patients, the impact of ribavirin (RBV) pharmacology on sustained virologic response (SVR) to hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment has not been fully investigated. The objective of this study was to compare the early RBV plasma exposure between a population of HIV-HCV coinfected patients and an HCV monoinfected group.MethodsEarly RBV plasma exposure (expressed as Area Under the Curve (AUC) from 0 to 4 h) after a 600 mg first dose of RBV was measured in a population of HIV-HCV coinfected patients in comparison with an HCV monoinfected group. Peripheral blood samples were collected before the 600 mg RBV first dose (T0) to ensure no detectable baseline plasma RBV, and then 30 mn, 1, 2 and 4 hours after RBV intake (T0.5, T1, T2 and T4).ResultsEighty-six patients with chronic hepatitis C entered the study among whom 23 (27%) were HIV-HCV coinfected. Coinfected patients had a significantly lower RBV-AUC 0-4h (median: 1469 μg*h/L [range 936–3677]) compared with monoinfected patients (2030 μg*h/L [851–7700]; p = 0.018). This RBV under exposure in coinfected patients persisted after normalization of AUC to RBV dose per kilogram of body weight (182 μg*h/L [110–425] versus 271 μg*h/L [82–1091], p = 0.001).ConclusionsThese results suggest that lower early bioavailability of RBV could be one of the reasons for lower SVR in HIV-HCV coinfected patients treated with pegylated interferon/RBV combination therapy. RBV plasma underexposure seems to be associated with the immunological status of the patients with lower AUC0-4h values observed in the more immunosuppressed coinfected patients.
Background and aimsIn Europe a wide variation in HCV prevalence between countries was described, ranging from 0.1 to 6.0%, higher in Eastern Europe than in Western Europe, which may threaten the biological safety of donated blood. The HCV frequency among blood donors in Romania has has made the object of only very few published studies.The aim of this study was to analyze the frequency of anti-HCV antibodies in blood donors from Cluj County (Romania) and its trend, in the period 2006–2011.Patients and methodsBetween 2006–2011 all donors, new and repeat donors were screened for hepatitis C virus infections using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Reactive results were confirmed using radioimmunoblotting assay (RIBA). The frequency and trends were analyzed using the T-test and X2-test.ResultsThere were 95,181 donors tested in the blood transfusion centre (BTC) laboratories between 2006–2011. The overall prevalence was 0.254 % (95% CI 0.222–0.286). The prevalence rates of anti-HCV antibodies increased with age between both genders, being higher among women, starting to decrease after the age of 51.ConclusionsThe results of this study demonstrate a high HCV prevalence in donations from 2006 to 2011, as compared to other countries in Europe, especially among first time blood donors, an infection that might be a potential threat to blood safety
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