Research Information System
ACTA GASTRO-ENTEROLOGICA BELGICA, vol.79, no.4, pp.501-502, 2016 (SCI-Expanded)
Thalassaemia is one of the most common inherited hemoglobinopathies that is characterized with defective hemoglobin synthesis and ineffective erythropoiesis. Chronic transfusion therapy which increases the risk of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is the main treatment for severe forms of disease. Upon routine implementation of HCV screening in blood banks, chronic Hepatitis C incidance in thalassaemia patients has decreased. Nevertheless, HCV prevalence in transfusion dependent thalassemia patients, most of whom have acquired HCV prior to screening, is 23-47%. Cirrhosis occurs in about 10-20% of chronically infected patients. Iron overload associated with chronic transfusion also contributes to the development of cirrhosis in these patients. Therefore successful treatment of hepatitis C in thalassemia patients is imperative. The classical treatment regimen of hepatitis C with peginterferon alfa and ribavirin combination does not have an optimal efficacy and tolerability in the general hepatitis C population. Furthermore ribavirin can induce hemolysis that leads to worsening of the anemia, a need for increased transfusion frequency and iron overload in thalassemia patients (1). However, chronic hepatitis C treatment has improved significantly in recent years due to novel, direct-acting antiviral agents (2,3). In the general hepatitis C population, these agents have shown high efficacy and tolerability, while for hepatitis C patients with thalassaemia, there is only a single case report on direct-acting antivirals, where the sofosbuvirsimeprevir combination was used (4). Herein, we reported a young beta-thalassaemia major patient with chronic hepatitis c infection who was treated with daclatasvir and asunaprevir, another direct-acting antiviral combination, successfully.