Abstract
Background and Objectives: Considering reductions in AIDS-related mortalities following effective anti-retroviral treatments in
HIV/AIDS patients, HCV-associated liver diseases have turned into a major concern for HIV/HCV co-infected patients. The present
study aims at determining SVR rates in HIV/HCV co-infected patients under pegylated interferon and ribavirin treatment referring
to Tehran Imam Khomeini hospital during 2010 - 2013.
Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, all HIV/HCV co-infected patients under pegilated interferon and ribavirin treatment
referring to Tehran Imam Khomeini Hospital during 2010 - 2013 entered the study. The variables include demographic information,
genotype, liver involvement stage in biopsy, viral load levels prior to treatment, 4th, 12th, and 48th week as well as 6 months
after treatment (sustained virologic response (SVR)), and CD4 count every 3 months.
Results: In the total of 28 male HIV/HCV co-infected patients of this study, 21.4% and 78.6% received peg IFN alfa- 2b, and pegIFN alfa2a,
respectively. There were 17 genotype I (61%), 9 (32%) genotype III, and 2 (7%) genotype II among the patients. The overall SVR rate of
the patients was 67.8%; it was 52.9% in genotype I and 72.7% in genotypes II and III. Despite the CD4 count decline during treatment,
opportunistic infections were not observed in any of the patients.
Conclusions: SVR rates in this study are higher than studies conducted in other countries and this implies the possibility of a more
favorable genetic trait in Iranian HCV patients responding to pegIFN and ribavirin. That is still the proper regimen due to high price
of free interferon regimens in Iran.