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

Despite a high cure rate achieved with direct-acting antivirals (DAA) in hepatitis C treatment, further research is warranted 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 (SVR). Using the fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index, patients were categorized based on their baseline fibrosis level, and improvements in fibrosis were analyzed in both the short-term (9–26 weeks) and long-term (≥ 36 weeks). The results showed a significant decrease in the FIB-4 index, indicative of liver fibrosis improvement, in 63.00% of the patients during the short-term follow-up and 67.56% during the long-term follow-up. Short-term improvement was associated with factors including ribavirin (RBV) usage and the levels of blood cholinesterase, alanine transaminase, and albumin, along with baseline FIB-4 index. Additionally, long-term improvement was associated with factors such as aspartate transaminase and total protein level, as well as the baseline FIB-4 index. The present study emphasizes the importance of continuous assessment and post-treatment monitoring of liver fibrosis, providing crucial insights for enhancing patient care in hepatitis C management.