Evaluating short-term and long-term liver fibrosis improvement in hepatitis C patients after DAA treatment

Despite achieving a high cure rate with the direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) in hepatitis C treatment, further research is needed to identify additional benefits of the DAA therapy. The current study evaluated liver fibrosis improvement in 848 hepatitis C patients treated with DAAs, who also achieved sustained virologic response. By the fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index, patients were categorized based on their baseline fibrosis levels, and the improvement in fibrosis was analyzed in both short-term (9–26 weeks) and long-term (≥ 36 weeks) follow-up. The results showed a significant decrease in the FIB-4 index, indicating an improvement in liver fibrosis, in 63.0% and 67.6% of the patients during the short-term and long-term follow-up, respectively. Short-term improvement was associated with factors including ribavirin usage, blood cholinesterase levels, alanine transaminase levels, albumin levels, and the baseline FIB-4 index, while long-term improvement was associated with factors such as aspartate transaminase levels, total protein level, and the baseline FIB-4 index. The current study emphasizes the importance of continuous assessment and post-treatment monitoring of liver fibrosis, which will provide crucial insights for enhancing patient care in hepatitis C management.