Hepatitis C viral kinetics during treatment of hepatitis C virus/HIV coinfected patients

Purpose of review Studies of hepatitis C virus and HIV kinetics during treatment have been instrumental in elucidating the viral lifecycle and mechanisms of action of antiviral therapies. We sought to review data on hepatitis C virus kinetics in hepatitis C virus/HIV coinfected patients and to illustrate how viral kinetics might direct therapeutic decisions in these patients. Recent findings Few studies have so far analysed the dynamic changes in hepatitis C virus RNA after treatment initiation in hepatitis C virus/HIV coinfected patients. These studies applied mathematical models previously developed in hepatitis C virus mono-infected patients, and the results obtained did not reveal major differences in viral kinetics between the two patient groups. Similar to mono-infected patients, early measurements of hepatitis C virus RNA levels after treatment initiation have been shown to have utility in predicting treatment response in coinfected patients. Summary Confirmatory studies are required to determine definitively whether differences exist between hepatitis C virus kinetics in mono compared with coinfected patients. With additional data, these methods have the potential to direct decisions in hepatitis C virus/HIV coinfection.