title: The influence of hepatitis B virus on antiviral treatment with interferon and ribavirin in Asian patients with hepatitis C virus/hepatitis B virus coinfection: a meta-analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Clinical and laboratory studies have indicated that coinfection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) can suppress one another, eliciting a dominant disease phenotype. To assess whether HBV can influence the antiviral effect of treatment on HCV, we performed a meta-analysis to comparatively analyze the response to interferon plus ribavirin treatment in patients with HBV/HCV coinfection and HCV mono-infection.
  
  
  METHODS
  Published studies in the English-language medical literature that involved cohorts of HBV/HCV coinfection and HCV mono-infection were obtained by searching Medline, Cochrane and Embase databases. Studies that compared the efficacy of treatment with interferon plus ribavirin in HBV/HCV coinfection and HCV mono-infection were assessed. End-of-treatment virological response (ETVR), sustained virological response (SVR), HCV relapse rate, and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) normalization rate were compared between HBV/HCV coinfection and HCV mono-infection patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Five trials involving 705 patients were analyzed. At the end of follow-up serum ALT normalization rates in patients with HCV mono-infection were significantly higher than in patients with HBV/HCV coinfection (odds ratio (OR) = 0.56, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.40-0.80, P = 0.001). The ETVR and SVR achieved in HBV/HCV coinfection patients were comparable to those in HCV mono-infection patients (OR = 1.03, 95% CI: 0.37-2.82, P = 0.96 and OR = 0.87, 95% CI: 0.62-1.21, P = 0.38, respectively). The rate of relapse for HCV or HCV genotype 1 was not significantly different between HBV/HCV coinfection patients and HCV mono-infection patients (OR = 1.55, 95% CI: 0.98-2.47, P = 0.06; HCV genotype 1: OR = 2.4, 95% CI: 1.17-4.91, P = 0.19).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Treatment with interferon and ribavirin achieves similar ETVR and SVR in HBV/HCV coinfection and HCV mono-infection. HBV/HCV coinfection patients had distinctively lower end of follow-up serum ALT normalization.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Institute for Viral Hepatitis, Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for Infectious Diseases, Ministry of Education, Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400010, China.
authors.forename: Jun-Ying
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Yun-Jian
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Sheng
authors.forename: Huai-Dong
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Shi-Wen
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.forename: Zhi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Da-Zhi
authors.initials: DZ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ren
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D044466:Asian People; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000821:virology; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D007372:Interferons / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012254:Ribavirin / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D012254:Ribavirin; D007372:Interferons