HCV Coinfection Increases Mortality in Patients with AIDS

Among patients with AIDS, chronic HCV infection is associated with a 50% increase in mortality.

As HIV-infected patients live longer, hepatic disease related to hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has become a leading cause of death. To assess the effect of HCV infection on mortality in patients with AIDS — a group that has many competing risk factors for death — investigators studied patients enrolled between 1998 and 2009 in a cohort called LSOCA (Longitudinal Study of the Ocular Complications of AIDS).

A total of 2025 patients with AIDS were followed for a median of 6.1 years; 337 (17%) were HCV RNA positive (indicating chronic HCV infection), and another 91 (5%) were HCV antibody positive but RNA negative (indicating cleared HCV infection). After adjustment for known risk factors, patients with chronic HCV infection had a 50% higher …

Reviewing Author

Rajesh T. Gandhi, MD

HCV Coinfection Increases Mortality in Patients with AIDS

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Reviewing Author