Comparing Treatment Response Between Older and Younger Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection on Direct-acting Antiviral Agents.

OBJECTIVE To compare sustained virologic response 12 weeks post-treatment completion (SVR12) and patient characteristics for older versus younger patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection (HCV) receiving direct-acting antiviral (DAA) agent therapy. METHODS This retrospective cohort study included patients with chronic HCV who received DAA therapy, between 2015 and 2018, in the largest health system in Rhode Island (N=154). Patient characteristics, comorbid diagnoses, and SVR12 status were compared between older (aged ≥60 years) and younger (<60 years) adults using chi-squared tests. RESULTS Overall, 94.1% (95% CI: 90.4-97.8) achieved SVR12; response rates were 91.8% (95% CI: 84.9-98.6) for older adults and 95.6% (95% CI: 91.5-99.8) for younger adults (p=0.51). CONCLUSIONS Our findings refute the historical notion that older adults were a "difficult-to-treat" subpopulation for whom clinicians should expect less treatment success. This is no longer the case with DAA therapy.