The outcomes of glucose abnormalities in chronic hepatitis C patients receiving interferon-free direct antiviral agents

Abstract Direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) have been widely used for chronic hepatitis C (CHC) treatment recently. The characteristics of glucose abnormalities after DAAs therapy however, remain elusive. We aimed to elucidate the mutual impact between treatment response and parameters of glucose abnormalities after DAAs therapy in CHC patients. CHC patients who received DAAs therapy were recruited. The primary outcome measurements were their insulin resistance (IR) and beta-cell function assessed by the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) method before treatment and at end-of-follow-up (EOF). Sixty-five CHC patients (19 males, mean age = 59.8 ± 10.3 years) were consecutively enrolled. They included 47 (72.3%) patients of genotype-1 infection. The treatment regimens among patients were sofosbuvir in 30 patients, paritaprevir-ritonavir/ombitasvir/dasabuvir in 23 patients, and asunaprevir/daclatasvir in 12 patients respectively. The overall sustained virological response rate was 98.5%. The mean IR at EOF was 2.6 ± 1.8, which was not significantly different from baseline level (2.7 ± 2.9, P = 0.75). There was a significant improvement of beta-cell function at EOF compared to baseline (107.7 ± 86.8 to 86.7 ± 44.5, P = 0.05). The amelioration of beta-cell function at EOF was significantly observed among 23 patients of high baseline IR (166.7 ± 111.3 of baseline vs 105.7 ± 48.2 of EOF, P = 0.04). Six (60%) of the 10 pre-diabetic patients at baseline achieved a normoglycemic state at EOF. Successful eradication of HCV by DAAs might improve glucose abnormalities in CHC patients, particularly among those who had high IR.