[First experience with elbasvir/grazoprevir fixed-dose combination in real-life practice in the Czech Republic]

Hepatitis C virus infection (HCV) is one of the leading causes of chronic liver disease worldwide. The new fixed-dose combination of the highly potent second wave first generation NS5A inhibitor elbasvir (50 mg) and the second generation protease inhibitor grazoprevir (100 mg) is contained in the drug Zepatier. This combination is indicated for the treatment of patients chronically infected with HCV genotypes 1 or 4. Between June and August 2017, the treatment was initiated in 22 patients with chronic viral hepatitis C, with 17 patients being treated in the Department of Infectious Diseases University Hospital Brno and five patients in the Center of Cardiovascular and Transplant Surgery in Brno. All patients were infected with HCV subtype 1b. In all cases, the duration of Zepatier monotherapy (without simultaneous ribavirin administration) was 12 weeks. At the moment, only preliminary results are available. All 22 patients achieved end-of-treatment virologic response. In nine patients, it was already possible to evaluate the virologic response at four weeks after the end of treatment, with sustained virological response (SVR12) was observed in all these patients. The most common complaints were fatigue (3 patients, 14 %) and headache (2.9 %). These problems were not serious and did not interfere with normal daily activities of treated persons.