Hepatic-Fibrosis Progression in HIV/HCV-Coinfected Patients

Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related liver disease is an important cause of mortality in HIV-infected patients. Should patients whose liver biopsies show only mild disease receive HCV treatment? If progression of liver disease is slow, deferring therapy might be reasonable; if progression is rapid, early therapy might prevent development of cirrhosis. To investigate this matter, researchers studied the incidence of and risk factors for fibrosis progression in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients.

One hundred seventy-four HIV/HCV-coinfected patients who underwent at least two liver biopsies were enrolled. In 24% of the patients, fibrosis increased significantly (i.e., progressed by ≥2 Ishak units) during the time between the first and second biopsies (medi…