Faculty Bibliography

Aim/UNASSIGNED:To assess the effect of treating chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection with direct acting antiviral drugs (DAAs) on glycemic control in patients with concomitant diabetes mellitus (DM). Methods/UNASSIGNED:We performed a retrospective case-control study in a viral hepatitis ambulatory clinic in Shreveport, Louisiana, during the period 11/01/2014 to 12/31/2017. All the clinic patient ages 18 years and above with treatment-naïve/biopsy-proven chronic hepatitis C and DM (hemoglobin A1C level ≥ 6.5%) who were eligible for treatment were included in the study. Of 118 such patients, 59 were treated with oral DAAs for 8-12 weeks with the goal of achieving a sustained virologic response (SVR). A control group of 59 patients did not receive treatment for their hepatitis C and was followed in the clinic. Patients in the control group did not receive treatment either due to insurance issues or refusal of hepatitis C treatment. Results/UNASSIGNED:< 0.0001 vs. the treatment group, which had a mean HbA1C decrease of 0.9 ± 0.2%). Conclusion/UNASSIGNED:This controlled study demonstrated that treatment of chronic hepatitis C with DAAs results in statistically significant and meaningful reductions in hemoglobin A1C levels in patients with coexisting diabetic mellitus if a SVR is achieved.