Effect of hepatitis C virus genotype on antiviral therapy in patients with human immunodeficiency virus/hepatitis C virus coinfection

Objective To investigate the effect of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype on antiviral therapy in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/HCV coinfection in Henan province. Methods A total of 129 patients were coinfected with HIV and HCV, among whom, 70 were HCV 1b genotype and 57 HCV 2a genotype. And 131 patients were HIV single infection. Immunological failure rate, virological suppression, CD4+ T lymphocyte counts and liver and renal function after antiretroviral therapy (ART) were compared among the three groups. Flow cytometry was used to count CD4+ T lymphocytes and polymerase chain reaction amplification was used to detect HIV RNA. The liver and renal function were tested by automatic biochemical analysis. Statistical analysis was conducted by χ2 test, analysis of variance and LSD-t method. Results Immunological failure rate in HCV 1b group, HCV 2a group and HIV single infection group were 7.14% (5/70), 15.79% (9/57) and 9.92% (13/131), respectively. There was no significant statistical difference among the three groups (χ2=2.59, P>0.05). The CD4+ T lymphocyte counts in three groups were (614±258), (529±245), and (518±243) cells/μL, respectively. The difference was statistically significant (F=3.17, P 0.05). The levels of aspartate transaminase, alanine aminotransferase and total bilirubin in HCV 1b group and HCV 2a group were all significantly higher than those in HIV single infection group (F=27.38, 15.22 and 7.33, respectively, all P 0.05). Conclusions The main HCV genotypes in patients with HIV/HCV coinfection by blood transmission are HCV 1b and HCV 2a in Henan province. HIV/HCV coinfection does not affect the effect of ART, but could aggravate the liver damage in acquired immune deficiency syndrome patients. Key words: Human immunodeficiency virus; Hepacivirus; Genotype; Antiviral therapy; Effect analysis