THE MAJOR DETERMINANTS OF SUSTAINED VIRAL RESPONSE AS GENOTYPE OR VIRAL RESPONSE IN CHRONIC HEPATITIS C PATIENTS ATTENDING TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the predictive power of some additional factors in our population taking conventional interferon. Thus, we can reduce the rate of relapse and therefore improve the sustained viral response. Study design: An observational study. Location and Duration: In the medicine department of Divisional Headquarters Teaching hospital, Mirpur Azad Kashmir for one year duration from July 2018 to July 2019. Methods: The qualitative variables, age, ALT at the beginning of treatment, sex, abnormal alanine aminotransferase (ALT), HCV genotype at the beginning of treatment, and the achievement of the Final Treatment Response (ETR) were recorded. Sustained viral response and the viral load of HCV are quantitative variables. 75.3% of the 235 patients reached the ETR, while only 76.8% of them reached the sustained viral response. ETR and sustained viral response were statistically correlated with patient age, sex, ALT, viral load and HCV genotype. Results: ETR was found to be 75% in male gender and 76% in females. SVR was 2.158 times higher in males than females and 2.98 times higher in ETR than younger than 40 years. ETR was found to be 75% in patients with abnormal onset ALT and 54% in patients with abnormal baseline ALT. ETR was found in 76% of subjects with decrease viral load and sustained viral response value was 24.29 times higher in patients with low viral load and the relationship was significant statistically (p = 0.000). Genotypes 3a, 2a, 3b, 2b and patients with incomprehensible HCV had an ETR of 77%, 72%, 81%, 75%, and 68%, respectively, and the relationship was statistically insignificant (p = 0.856) with genotype 3a. , 2a, 3b, 2b and non-typeable SVR values were 58%, 54%, 64.5%, 65% and 21%, respectively, and the relationship was significant statistically (p = 0.025). Conclusion: Overall sustained viral response with standard ribavirin and interferon therapy was low in subjects and was due to marked erosion of patients after reaching ETR; Otherwise, SUSTAINED VIRAL RESPONSE was 76.8% in the participants for follow-up. Key words: chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV), HCV viral load, HCV genotype, end of treatment