Impacts of hepatitis B and hepatitis C co-infection with tuberculosis, a prospective cohort study

Prevalence, treatment, and outcomes of hepatitis C in an MDR/RR-TB trial cohort

Tuberculosis (TB) and chronic hepatitis C virus infection (HCV) remain significant global health challenges, especially in low- and middle-income countries. In Eastern Europe, a considerable percentage of multi-drug resistant (MDR) and rifampicin resistant (RR) TB populations show high HCV prevalence. Current WHO guidelines do not routinely advise HCV testing during MDR-TB treatment, despite HCV being a risk factor for drug-induced liver complications in TB patients. This study investigates the co-treatment of MDR/RR-TB and HCV, using data from the TB-PRACTECAL trial. Data were collected as part of the TB-PRACTECAL clinical trial. All participants were screened for HCV at baseline. Participants who were HCV antibody positive and those who were treated for hepatitis C with Direct Acting Antivirals (DAAs) were extracted and compared to overall cohort characteristics. The characteristics of participants concomitantly treated with direct-acting antivirals are described including hepatitis treatment outcomes and adverse events. Among 552 participants from Belarus, Uzbekistan, and South Africa, 24 (4.3%) were HCV antibody positive. Unfavourable TB treatment outcomes were noted in 106/523 (22%) of the HCV-negative, 8/18 (44%) of the HCV-seropositive, and 2/7 (29%) of HCV-confirmed participants treated with DAAs. Of the six participants who received concurrent HCV and MDR/RR TB treatment, three were cured of HCV and three had no post-treatment HCV RNA test, five completed TB treatment and one discontinued treatment due to a severe adverse reaction. Concurrent treatment of MDR-TB and HCV, including in HIV patients, showed promising outcomes with no significant adverse events. The findings support the potential benefits of integrating HCV care into MDR-TB management.

Co-infection With Hepatitis B in Tuberculosis Patients on Anti-tuberculosis Treatment and the Final Outcome

Background The occurrence of both tuberculosis (TB) and concomitant hepatitis B virus (HBV) is likely to be associated with poor patient outcomes and poor treatment response. Objective To assess whether tuberculosis patients with concomitant hepatitis B virus infection were prone to poorer outcomes and treatment response. Methodology A case-control study was undertaken at the Tuberculosis Centre, DHQ Bagh Azad Kashmir and Pulmonology Department, Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, between March 2020 and August 2020. All patients with diagnosed tuberculosis and coinfection with hepatitis B were labeled as the case group while those with only tuberculosis acted as the control. All patients with tuberculosis were managed on a directly observed treatment strategy (DOTS). Non-compliant patients and those without complete data were excluded from the study. All data regarding socio-demographics, laboratory investigations, and clinical characteristics were recorded in a predefined proforma. Patients were considered to have good treatment outcomes when patients completed the treatment or had a negative smear at six months of treatment. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY) was used for the data analysis. Results A total of 178 patients were enrolled in the study. It was found that patients with concomitant hepatitis B had significantly poorer outcomes as compared to patients who did not have hepatitis B (<0.001). Similarly, TB and hepatitis B patients were significantly associated with severe tuberculosis (<0.001) and required a higher frequency of retreatment (<0.001). Conclusion Our study reports a strong association between the treatment response of patients with tuberculosis with an added hepatitis B infection. Furthermore, a larger number of patients with hepatitis B had severe tuberculosis as compared to those without hepatitis B.