Care of hepatitis C virus infection in France

Background & aims: To determine the characteristics of hepatitis C (HCV)- infected patients in 2010 and compare this survey with those reported in 1995 and 2001.Patients and methods: Observational multicentre study conducted in 2010 in French internal medicine, infectious diseases and hepatology departments.Results: A total of 1621 HCV infected patients (mean age 50.1 ± 10.7 years; sex ratio M/F 1.8; genotype 1: 55.7%) were included. Of these, 910 (56.1%) were HIV–HCV co-infected, 463 (40.4%) were asymptomatic and 184 (16.1%) had cirrhosis at inclusion in this study. Positive viraemia was found in 1,025 patients (65.5%) at inclusion in this study. A complete pretreatment evaluation including investigation for HCV RNA, genotype determination and liver fibrosis was performed in 96.5, 80.5 and 68.7% of the 1,621 patients respectively. Previous and ongoing HCV treatments were noted in 49.6% and 20.1% of patients respectively. A sustained virological response (SVR) was observed in 271/801 (38.3%) patients, i.e. 44.1% and 30.7% in co-infected and mono-infected patients respectively. Cirrhosis was more frequent in the 2010 than in the 2001 and 1995 surveys (16.1% vs. 10.4% and 7.4% respectively; P < 0.0001). A complete pretreatment evaluation was performed in 57.9% and 50.9% of patients in 2010 and 2001 (P < 0.0001). Liver fibrosis evaluation was more frequent in 2010 than in the 2001 and 1995 surveys (68.7% vs. 62.7% and 28.7%, respectively, P < 0.0001).Conclusion: The care of HCV-infected patients has changed significantly in 'real life' through an improvement of pretreatment evaluation before the antiviral introduction and the increased use of antivirals. New HCV therapy combinations including protease inhibitors are warranted to increase the SVR rate.