Retreatment with peginterferon and ribavirin in chronic hepatitis C

The development of boceprevir and telaprevir was a major step forward in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. In addition, the treatment of these infections has been recently revolutionized by the approval of sofosbuvir and simeprevir. However, there are several challenges associated with the application of novel drugs, such as new and more frequent adverse events, new drug interactions, and excessively high treatment costs. An additional concern is viral resistance. These considerations highlight the fact that direct-acting antiviral agents are not a panacea and may not be the best option for all patients who are in need of therapy. This retrospective study revealed that the sustained virologic response was not significantly reduced following peginterferon and ribavirin retreatment compared with the new therapy. We suggest that patients who experience relapse shortly after completing treatment with peginterferon and ribavirin have a reasonable chance of achieving a sustained virologic response when retreated with these drugs alone.