All-cause mortality is lower in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection and advanced hepatic fibrosis if sustained virological response is attained, according to a research letter published in JAMA.
To further investigate the advantages of sustained virological response (SVR) in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection with that of the general population, Adriaan J. van der Meer, MD, PhD, of the Erasmus MC University Medical Center in Rodderdam, the Netherlands, and colleagues culled data from a previous study. Consecutive patients with chronic HCV monoinfection and biopsy-proven advanced hepatic fibrosis who initiated interferon-based antiviral therapy between 1990 and 2003 from five large hepatology units across the United States and Europe were included in the study.
Follow-up started 24 weeks after cessation of antiviral treatment, at which time achievement of SVR was determined. For each virological response group, the observed overall survival when compared with the expected survival from matched age-, sex-, and calendar time-specific death rates of the general population in the Netherlands.
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Follow-up was complete in 86% of the study participants (n=454), and 36% (n=192) attainted SVR, reported the investigators. Thirteen patients with SVR died, resulting in a cumulative 10-year overall survival of 91.1% (95% CI: 85.5% to 96.7%), which did not different significantly from the aged- and sex-matched general population (P=0.57).
