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Drug information (i. Anti-infectives, ii. cytostatics, iii. others)
Do HIV/HCV co-infected patients need haematopoietic growth factors earlier than non-co-infected during HCV treatment?
  1. O. Urbina,
  2. O. Ferrández,
  3. S. Luque,
  4. M. Espona,
  5. M. Florit,
  6. R. Pellicer,
  7. A. Carmona
  1. 1Hospital del Mar, Pharmacy, Barcelona, Spain

Abstract

Background Hepatitis C treatment (HCVt) with peg-interferon and ribavirin is limited by haematological side-effects. Haematopoietic growth factors (HGF) allow to maintain standard antiviral doses in order to achieve sustained virological response in hepatitis C (HCV) infected patients.

Purpose To evaluate if HIV/HCV co-infected patients need HGF earlier than non-coinfected during HCVt. Clinical and haematological characteristics of HCV-infected-patients receiving HGF were compared between HIV+ vs HIV-.

Materials and methods Retrospective study in a third level hospital including all patients on HCVt that needed HGF between January 2008 and February 2011. Data: HIV-co-infection, age, gender, HCV-genotype, HCVt, haematological parameters, HGF. Statistical analyses: χ2 and Fischer exact test for dichotomic variables and t-student and ‘U’ Mann-Whitney tests for continuous variables.

Results 132 patients. 33(25%) HIV+. Characteristics HIV± versus HIV-:

  • Age: 50.3± 7.6 versus 52± 11.1 p=0.412

  • Male: 26(78.8%) versus 58(58.6%) p=0.039

  • Genotype(G): G1: 17(51.5%) versus 66(66.7%), G2: 2(6.1%) versus 2(2%), G3: 10(30.3%) versus 18(18.2%), G4: 4(12.1%) versus 10(10.1%), non-typeable: 0(0%) versus 3(3%).

  • All patients received ribavirin. All HIV+ received peg-interferon α2a. HIV- received 88(88.9%) peg-interferon α2a and 11(11.1%) peg-interferon α2b.

Patients on HGF (HIV± vs HIV-). Erythropoietin: 26(78.8%) versus 78(78.8%). Filgrastim: 15(45.5%) versus 33(33.3%). Both: 8(24.2%) versus 12(12.1%). Days until erythropoietin initiation 76(32-124) versus 103(57-192) (p= 0.15). Days until filgrastim initiation 92(58-124) versus 97(48-224) (p= 0.72)

Conclusions HIV/HCV co-infected patients did not initiate HGF earlier than non-co-infected, although a tendency to a shorter period of time until starting erythropoietin was observed. A greater percentage of HIV+ seemed to need the use of both, erythropoietin and filgrastim, although it was not significant. Haematological parameters at the beginning of HCVt and HGF were similar in both groups.

DGI013 Table 1 Haematological parameters

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