Association between vitamin D levels and the treatment responses to sofosbuvir containing regimens in chronic HCV Egyptian patients

Abstract

Background Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a worldwide epidemic, and it is the highest widespread blood-transmitted infectious viruses which replication occurs in the liver. Nowadays, chronic hepatitis C (CHC) is a very serious health problem. Every year, about 1.5 million newly identified cases of CHC are reported, and 58 million individuals worldwide live with this condition. Also, Egypt records the highest percentage of HCV viral infection around the world. The national program in Egypt achieved a remarkable success in terms of participation rate. From the 62.5 million target population, about 49.6 million individuals (79.4%) performed screening between October 1, 2018, and April 30, 2019. Objective: Investigate the levels of vitamin D in serum among HCV patients and its correlation with the response to sofosbuvir. The current study results showed that there was a significant increase regarding to AST, ALT, AFP, GGT, direct bilirubin, total bilirubin, creatinine, urea, HbA1c, WBCs, INR, the inflammatory markers (IL-6 and TNF-α), sun exposure levels, and TSH in HCV patients compared to the control group (P <0.05). While there was a significant decrease regarding to lipid profile (such as triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL, and HDL), albumin, Hb, and platelets in HCV patients compared to the control group (P <0.05). Also, the vitamin D levels were slightly decreased, but not enough to be a significant change between the HCV patients and the control group (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Treatment of HCV patients using sofosbuvir-containing regimens improved the liver, renal, lipid profile, and inflammatory parameters.