Combination antiretroviral therapy is associated with reduction in liver fibrosis scores in patients with HIV and HBV co-infection

• Published in: AIDS research and therapy Vol. 18; no. 1; p. 98
• Main Authors: Yang, Rongrong, Gui, Xien, Ke, Hengning, Xiong, Yong, Gao, Shicheng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 19.12.2021; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Alcohol; Anti-Retroviral Agents - therapeutic use; Antiretroviral agents; Antiretroviral drugs; Antiretroviral therapy; Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active; Antiviral agents; Care and treatment; Coinfection - drug therapy; Complications and side effects; Dosage and administration; Drug therapy; FIB-4 index; Fibrosis; Hepatitis B; Hepatitis B virus; HIV; HIV infection; HIV Infections - complications; HIV Infections - drug therapy; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Individuals with HIV/HBV co-infection; Infections; Laboratories; Liver; Liver Cirrhosis - drug therapy; Liver Cirrhosis - epidemiology; Liver Cirrhosis - etiology; Liver diseases; Liver fibrosis; Multivariate analysis; Non-invasive assessment; Patient outcomes; Prevention; Risk factors; Thrombocytopenia; China; Individuals with HIV/HBV co-infection; Non-invasive assessment; Liver fibrosis; FIB-4 index; Antiretroviral therapy
• ISSN: 1742-6405; 1742-6405
• DOI: 10.1186/s12981-021-00419-y

Liver fibrosis is common in individuals with HIV/HBV co-infection, but whether cART could reverses liver fibrosis is unclear. This was a retrospective observational study. Binary logistic regression was used to assess predictors of liver fibrosis in individuals with HIV/HBV co-infection. Comparison of FIB-4 scores before and after cART were compared using X test and t test. Four hundred and fifty-eight individuals with HIV/HBV co-infection were included in this study. It was found that cART (HR 0.016, 95% CI: 0.009-0.136; P < 0.001) was one of protection factors to against liver fibrosis. Forty individuals who had normal levels of ALT, AST and PLT during the whole course of diseases were stratified into FIB-4 < 1.45 (n = 14), 1.45 ≤ FIB-4 ≤ 3.25 (n = 19) and FIB-4 > 3.25 (n = 7) groups by their FIB-4 scores before cART. In 1.45 ≤ FIB-4 ≤ 3.25 group, 57.9%(11/19) of the individuals dropped to FIB-4 < 1.45 group by cART; in FIB-4 > 3.25 group, 85.7%(6/79) dropped to 1.45 ≤ FIB-4 ≤ 3.25 group, while 14.3%(1/7) dropped to FIB-4 < 1.45 group. In cART-naive group, 1 year, 2-5 years and 5-10 years post-cART groups, FIB-4 scores were 4.29 ± 0.43, 3.63 ± 0.38, 2.90 ± 0.36 and 2.52 ± 0.38, respectively (P = 0.034); and the incidence of liver fibrosis were 7.38%(104/141), 63.6%(98/154), 60.8%(62/102) and 47.5%(29/61), respectively (P = 0.004). cART was associated with decreased FIB-4 scores and the benefit of cART in reversing liver fibrosis can sustain for a decade in patients with HIV/HBV co-infection.