Comparison of the Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes between Leprosy-Affected Persons in Sorokdo and the General Population Affected by Chronic Hepatitis C in Korea
- Author:
Young Hwan AHN
1
;
Hyungcheol PARK
;
Myeon Jae LEE
;
Dong Hyun KIM
;
Sung Bum CHO
;
Eunae CHO
;
Chung Hwan JUN
;
Sung Kyu CHOI
Author Information
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords: Hepatitis C, chronic; Antiviral agents; Leprosy
- MeSH: Anemia, Hemolytic; Antiviral Agents; Blood Transfusion; Genotype; Hepacivirus; Hepatitis C; Hepatitis C, Chronic; Hepatitis, Chronic; Humans; Jeollanam-do; Korea; Leprosy; Male; Prevalence; Retrospective Studies; RNA; Treatment Outcome
- From:Gut and Liver 2019;13(5):549-556
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: BACKGROUND/AIMS: Patients with Hansen’s disease are the most vulnerable to hepatitis C. However, no data on the treatment efficacy of direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) are available in this group. Therefore, we elucidated the prevalence and clinical outcomes of hepatitis C in persons affected by leprosy in Sorokdo, Jeollanam-do, Korea. METHODS: We retrospectively included 50 leprosy patients with positive hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA test results (group A) hospitalized at the Sorokdo National Hospital from May 2016 to March 2018 and 73 patients with chronic hepatitis C who were treated with DAAs at the Chonnam National University Hospital (group B) from May 2016 to December 2017. RESULTS: Overall, at the Sorokdo National Hospital, positive HCV antibody and HCV RNA rates were 18.4% and 11.0%, respectively. The mean participant age was 76.5±7 years, and 58% of participants were men. The genotypes were type 1b in 44% (22 out of 50) and type 2 in 56% (28 out of 50). Sustained virologic response was achieved at a rate of 95.5% (21/22) in genotype 1b and 92.9% (26/28) in genotype 2 patients. Ribavirin-induced hemolytic anemia occurred in 57.1% (16/28) of patients with genotype 2. Among these, 28.5% (8/28) received blood transfusions. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment efficacy was not different between the leprosy-affected population and the general population. However, severe ribavirin-induced hemolytic anemia requiring transfusion was present in 28.5% of genotype 2 patients. Therefore, we suggest ribavirin-free DAAs for the treatment of genotype 2 hepatitis C in leprosy-affected persons in the future.
