Sustained virological responses following standard anti-viral therapy in decompensated HCV-infected cirrhotic patients

Summary Background Little data is available about predictors of sustained virological response (SVR) during anti-viral therapy of patients with decompensated HCV cirrhosis. Aims To determine whether rapid and early virological responses (RVR and EVR) could predict SVR and help optimize treatment in these patients. Methods A total of 94 cirrhotics underwent treatment with peg-interferon alfa-2b (1.5 μg/kg weekly) and ribavirin (800/1200 mg daily) for 48 or 24 weeks for genotypes 1/4 or genotypes 2/3, respectively. Results Overall, SVR was achieved in 33 patients (35.1%), 16% with genotype 1/4 and 56.8% with genotype 2/3 (P