Treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in patients coinfected with HIV in the HIV Outpatient Study (HOPS), 1999-2007.

Liver disease due to hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a leading cause of non-AIDS-related morbidity and mortality in patients infected with HIV. We assessed the frequency of and predictors for initiation of treatment for HCV infection among patients coinfected with HCV/HIV enrolled in the HIV Outpatient Study (HOPS) during 1999-2007. We included patients with confirmed HCV infection, at least 1 year of subsequent follow-up, and no evidence of prior HCV treatment. We assessed predictors of HCV treatment initiation using Cox proportional hazards analyses. During 1999-2007, 103 (20%) HOPS patients coinfected with HCV/HIV initiated HCV treatment during a median of 4.3 years of follow-up (interquartile range: 2.7, 6.7). In multivariable analysis, non-Hispanic black race/ethnicity (hazard ratio HR] 0.3; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.2, 0.6) was independently associated with a lower likelihood of HCV treatment. Elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT; HR 3.5; 95% CI = 2.2, 5.6) and CD4+ cell count ≥500 cells/mm(3) (HR 1.8; 95% CI = 1.2, 2.8) at the start of observation were independently associated with higher likelihood of HCV treatment. For patients starting observation in 1999-2001, 2002-2004 and 2005-2007, 5%, 11% and 21% of patients initiated treatment during the first year of follow-up, respectively. Between 1999 and 2007, despite a stable low fraction of patients coinfected with HCV/HIV initiating treatment for HCV infection, an increasing proportion initiated treatment within the first year after the infection was confirmed. Treatment of HCV infection in patients coinfected with HCV/HIV should be considered a priority, given the increased risk of accelerated end-stage liver disease.