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Patients who are coinfected with HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are less likely to respond to HCV treatment than monoinfected patients. Whether individual antiretroviral medications contribute to these diminished outcomes is unknown. Some studies have suggested that abacavir might interfere with the anti-HCV effects of ribavirin, but the data have been inconsistent.
In this retrospective cohort study (partially supported by the maker of abacavir), investigators reviewed HCV-treatment outcomes data from 212 coinfected patients who were receiving antiretroviral therapy at the time they started pegylated interferon plus ribavirin. Outcomes were compared between the 74 patients who received abacavir and the 138 patients who did not. Notably, th…