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With the development of direct antiviral agents for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, all-oral regimens with pan-genotypic activity, few adverse effects, and high sustained virologic response (SVR) rates will soon be available. However, due to the high cost of the new regimens, the question becomes: Can eradication of HCV infection be achieved cost-effectively? One option would be to treat subpopulations that achieve high SVR rates with only peginterferon and ribavirin (combination therapy).
In a randomized, controlled study, 233 treatment-naive patients with HCV genotype 1, a low baseline viral load (HCV RNA <600,000 IU/mL), and no cirrhosis received peginterferon α-2b (PEG; 1.5 µg/kg/week) and ribavirin (RBV; 1000–1200 mg…