Prevalence of Occult HCV Infections in Saudi Patients who Achieved Sustained Virologic Response with Direct Acting Antiviral Treatment | ||||
Medical Journal of Viral Hepatitis | ||||
Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available Online from 05 May 2021 | ||||
Document Type: Original article | ||||
DOI: 10.21608/mjvh.2021.33028.1003 | ||||
View on SCiNiTO | ||||
Authors | ||||
Hamad Al Ashgar1; Ahmed AlQahtani2; Consultant, Gastroenterologist Mohammed Al Quaiz3; Hussa Alhussaini4; Khalid Al Kahtani3; Amr M Elssadany5; Saleh A Alqahtani6; MUSTHAFA C PEEDIKAYIL 7 | ||||
1Consultant, Gastroenterologist.King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre. Riyadh. Saudi Arabia. Pin 11211 | ||||
2Consultant, Department of Infection and Immunity,King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre. Riyadh. Saudi Arabia. Pin 11211 | ||||
3Consultant, Gastroenterologist, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre. Riyadh. Saudi Arabia. Pin 11211 | ||||
4Consultant, Anatomic pathology,King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre. Riyadh. Saudi Arabia. Pin 11211 | ||||
5Associate consultant, Radiology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre. Riyadh. Saudi Arabia. Pin 11211 | ||||
6Consultant hepatologist, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre. Riyadh. Saudi Arabia. Pin 11211 | ||||
7KING FAISAL SPECIALIST HOSPITAL AND RESEARCH CENTER,PO BOX NO.3354 | ||||
Abstract | ||||
Background: Occult hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection (OCI) is a condition where HCV RNA is present in hepatocytes or peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), but not in the serum, in patients treated for hepatitis C infection. Serum HCV antibodies may or may not be present. Aim: We investigated the prevalence of OCI in PBMCs and hepatocytes in patients who had achieved sustained virologic response (SVR) after 24 weeks of direct-acting antiviral treatment. Methods: Chronic HCV patients with Genotype 1a and 4 who achieved SVR 24 weeks after treatment with direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) were prospectively selected. RNeasy Blood and Tissue Kit (Qiagen GmbH, Germany) was used for RNA extraction from blood and liver tissue samples. Superscript IV First-Strand Synthesis System (Invitrogen) was used for reverse transcription PCR. Quantitative and qualitative detection of HCV RNA was performed using primers specific to the 5′ untranslated region (5′ UTR). Patients: Of the six chronic HCV patients recruited for this study, five were infected with genotype 4 and one with genotype 1a. Five patients were treated with Sofosbuvir and Daclatasvir, and one patient with Ledipasvir plus Sofosbuvir. Results: None of the patients had detectable HCV RNA in either the PBMCs or hepatocytes, suggesting zero prevalence of OCI in patients who achieved 24 weeks SVR post DAA treatment. Conclusion: We failed to detect HCV RNA in both the hepatocytes and PBMCs of all patients recruited for the study. This finding suggests that OCI is a rare phenomenon and uncommon among immunocompetent patients. | ||||
Keywords | ||||
Chronic hepatitis; HCV; hepatitis C virus; occult HCV infection; direct-acting antiviral agents | ||||
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