CLINICAL AND LABORATORY CHARACTERISTICS OF CHRONIC HEPATITIS C IN VIETNAM ON THE EXAMPLE OF HO CHI MINH CITY HEPATOLOGY CLINIC

Objectives. To provide clinical and laboratory characteristics of chronic hepatitis C in Vietnam. Materials and methods. A retrospective analysis of data about 1870 HCV patients observed at Hepatology Clinic in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam from 2010 to 2015. Results. Among observed patients, HCV genotype 1 is predominant (48.8%), genotype 6 was registered in 29,7% of patients, and genotype 2 – 18,7%. Advanced fibrosis (F3) and cirrhosis (F4) were detected in 52% of patients. The rate of chronic co-infection with hepatitis B viruse and hepatitis C virus is at 6% of patients. Nearly one-tenth of all observed HCV patients (9%) were diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma. In the group of patients who completed the full course of treatment, non-responsers to therapy and have virologic breakthrough, SVR-24 was registered at 73,7% and 75,1% of patients treated with simple or pegylated interferon, respectively. Thus, combination therapy with interferonalpha and ribavirin for the indigenous Vietnamese population has been showed relatively high efficiency. Conclusion. The findings about clinical and laboratory characteristics of patients with chronic hepatitis C, and the effectiveness of antiviral therapy, have practical importance for preparation a long-term strategy for the elimination of hepatitis C in Vietnam.