A cross-sectional study of real life data of HCV from Turkey south region

Abstract

Introduction: This study investigated demographic characteristics and the prevalence of viremia among anti-HCV-positive patients.
 Methodology: Hospital records of adult patients with anti-HCV positivity between June 2016 and October 2018 were screened retrospectively. Demographic characteristics, genotype distribution, history of injection drug use (IDU), treatment data of HCV RNA-positive patients were investigated.
 Results: The rate of anti-HCV seropositivity was 1.7% and 54.5% of these were viremic. 69.5% of the 869 viremic patients were male. The mean age was 62 ± 15 (18–95) years for women and 42 ± 19 (18-90) years for men (p < 0.0001). 42.7% of these patients had IDU history. Regarding age, patients with IDU history accounted for 95% of the 18–29 age group. The most common genotype in patients younger than 40 was genotype 3, and genotype 1b in those older than 40. Only 52% of viremic patients had received DAA therapy. Also, 62.2% of patients aged < 40 and 36% of patients > 40 did not receive treatment (p < 0.0001). The SVR12 rate in patients receiving DAA treatment and follow-up was 100%; SVR24 was 99.5%.
 Conclusions: A shift in the demographic structure of HCV-infected patients due to the changing trends of the HCV transmission mode was observed in this study. On the other hand, the proportion of patients who received DAA therapy was low. A substantial proportion of untreated patients were young with a history of IDU. This indicates that without strategies targeting the patients, the patient load due to HCV-related cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma may persist in the future.

HCV Genotype Distribution Among People Who Inject Drug in Turkey: Findings from Multicenter and Cross-Sectional Study

“…Even though most of the patients in this study who were 40 or older and had any type of disease had genotype 1b, the authors thought that infection through blood transfusion could be the main cause in this patient group, while the fact that genotype 3 was most common in younger patients with substance use disorder showed similarities to our study. 28 It is remarkable that genotype 3 (44.1%) and genotype 1a (41.95%), the 2 most common types in this study, are similarly the 2 most common subtypes in the studies conducted in Turkey until now. It is also remarkable that the dominant type varies with respect to geographical regions.…”

“…80% of HCV genotype 1 cases are HCV genotype 1b. 5,21,27,28 Even though there aren't many studies showing that genotypes vary among PWID in Turkey, HCV genotypes 3 and 1 are the most common, with rates of 58.6% and 50.4% to 61%, respectively. [29][30][31] This difference in genotypic distribution may be due to common needle sharing within the PWID group, as well as different immunological mechanisms that help the persistence of different genotypes in patients with PWID.…”

Evaluation of Hepatitis C virus genotype and viral loads in patients with chronic Hepatitis C infection: A five-year, single-center retrospective study

“…19 Adana ilinde yapılan çalışmada 40 yaşından küçük hastalarda en yaygın genotip 3 ve 40 yaşından büyüklerde genotip 1b tespit edilmiştir. 20 İzmir ilinde yapılan çalışmada genotip 1b ile enfekte hastaların yaş ortalaması, genotip 1a, genotip 3 ve genotip 4 ile enfekte hastaların yaş ortalamasından yüksek bulunmuştur. 17 Giresun ilinde yapılan çalışmada ise; yaş ortalamalarının genotip 1b'de 1a ve 3'ten, genotip 1a'da ise genotip 3'ten anlamlı oranda daha yüksek olduğu saptanmıştır.…”

Treatment initiation rates of patients with positive anti-hepatitis C virus results in tertiary hospitals in Turkey: a retrospective, cross-sectional chart review (Lost-C Study)

“…25 Results of similar studies conducted in Turkey indicate that HCV-RNA was not investigated in 30%-40% of the patients who had positive anti-HCV results. 26,27 Investigation of HCV screening in a tertiary care hospital in Turkey showed that 95 patients were positive for anti-HCV and that HCV-RNA was not investigated in 47% of these patients. 28 Similarly, the results of another Turkish study showed that HCV-RNA was not tested in 51% of the patients who had positive anti-HCV results.…”