title: Antiretroviral therapy does not affect response to chronic hepatitis C therapy in HIV-coinfected patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Many patients coinfected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are using highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and HCV therapy with peginterferon (PEG-IFN) and ribavirina (RBV) because the use of direct-acting antivirals is not a reality in some countries. To know the impact of such medications in the sustained virological response (SVR) during HCV treatment is of great importance.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a retrospective cohort study of 215 coinfected HIV/HCV patients. The patients were treated with PEG-IFN and RBV between 2007 and 2013 and analyzed by intention to treat. Treatment-experienced patients to HCV and carriers of hepatitis B were excluded. Demographic data (gender, age), mode of infection, HCV genotype, HCV viral load, hepatic fibrosis, HIV status, and type of PEG were evaluated. One hundred eighty-eight (87.4%) patients were using HAART.
  
  
  RESULTS
  SVR was achieved in 55 (29.3%) patients using HAART and in 9 (33.3%) patients not using HAART (p = 0.86). There was no difference in SVR between different HAART medications and regimens using two reverse transcriptase inhibitor nucleosides (NRTIs) or the use of protease inhibitors and non-NRTIs (27.1% versus 31.5%; p = 0.61). The predictive factors for obtaining SVR were low HCV viral load, non-1 genotype, and the use of peginterferon-α2a.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The use of HAART does not influence the SVR of HCV under PEG-IFN and RBV therapy in HIV/HCV coinfected patients.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre (UFCSPA), Porto Alegre, Brasil. leon.luciana@yahoo.com.br.
authors.forename: Luciana Brosina
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: De Leon
authors.forename: Cristiane Valle
authors.initials: CV
authors.lastname: Tovo
authors.forename: Dimas Alexandre
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Kliemann
authors.forename: Angelo Alves
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: De Mattos
authors.forename: Alberi Adolfo
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Feltrin
authors.forename: Liliane Souto
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Pacheco
authors.forename: Paulo Roberto Lerias
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: De Almeida
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D060085:Coinfection / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004347:Drug Interactions; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012254:Ribavirin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000072230:Sustained Virologic Response; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents; D000998:Antiviral Agents; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D012254:Ribavirin