Limited but increasing use of treatment for hepatitis C across Europe in patients coinfected with HIV and hepatitis C

Uptake of hepatitis C (HCV) treatment in HIV-coinfected patients is not well described. Of 2356 HCV-seropositive patients, 180 (7.6%) started HCV treatment with interferon-based therapies. In multivariate Poisson-regression models, there was a 38% increase per year in the incidence of starting HCV treatment (95% CI 26 - 51%, p < 0.0001); this increased from 3.9 per 1000 person-years follow-up (PYFU) before 1998 (95% CI 1.6 - 6.1) to 32.6 per 1000 PYFU at/after 2004 (95% CI 22.5 - 42.7). Although prescription of HCV therapy is increasing in HIV-coinfected patients, it remains infrequent and variable across regions of Europe.