• Dorota Zarębska-Michaluk, Michał Brzdęk, Piotr Rzymski, Krystyna Dobrowolska, and Robert Flisiak.
• Department of Infectious Diseases and Allergology, Jan Kochanowski University, Kielce, Poland; Department of Infectious Diseases, Provincial Hospital, Kielce, Poland. dorota1010@tlen.pl
• Pol. Arch. Med. Wewn. 2024 Jan 29; 134 (1).

IntroductionHepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) share a similar transmission route, which increases coinfection odds and worsens clinical outcomes.ObjectivesOur aim was to investigate coinfected patients undergoing HCV treatment with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) to understand their characteristics, risk of HBV reactivation, and effectiveness of the therapy.Patients And MethodsOur study comprehensively analyzed 1118 patients with chronic HCV infection, divided into 3 subgroups based on their HBV status.ResultsWe documented that 0.7% of the analyzed population was positive for hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg), while 14.3% had evidence of a past HBV infection. The patients without HBV coinfection were less burdened with comorbidities, and were mostly treatment-naive, while the individuals suffering from coinfection were younger and more likely to have a history of a previous therapy. Infection with HCV genotype 3 was more common among the HBsAg-positive patients than in the other studied groups. Response to DAA therapy was comparable between the groups, and most patients completed the course of treatment as planned. Only 3 cases of HBV reactivation were observed, all of which achieved sustained virologic response after DAA therapy. Two were women on immunosuppressants with antihepatitis B core positive antibodies, and the third patient was an HBsAgpositive man. These patients remained in long-term follow-up.ConclusionsNeither the presence of HBV markers nor HBV reactivation during DAA treatment reduced effectiveness of the therapy. Our findings are important for future recommendations and guidelines on managing HBV/HCV coinfection.

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