Viral relapse with hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment can occur in a small percentage of individuals treated with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) due to a variety of factors that include suboptimal adherence, advanced fibrosis, HCV genotype, and variable pharmacokinetic and/or host immune properties. Although there are options for retreatment in individuals in whom prior DAA therapy failed, the choices, and clinical experience with these combinations are more limited than for treatment-naïve individuals. This lesson will review the recommended and alternative regimens for persons who are HCV treatment-experienced, as outlined by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) and Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) HCV Guidance.[1]
The AASLD-IDSA HCV Guidance has organized these pretreatment recommendations according to the following three prior treatment regimen groups associated with the treatment failure: (1) sofosbuvir-containing DAA or elbasvir-grazoprevir, (2) glecaprevir-pibrentasvir, and (3) multiple DAA failures including the salvage regimens of sofosbuvir-velpatasir-voxilaprevir or sofosbuvir plus glecaprevir-pibrentasvir.[2,3,4] Recommended regimens are preferred options due to their proven efficacy and more robust evidence base, as well as their favorable side effect profile and pill burden.[1] Alternative regimens are also effective and may be the best choice for a specific patient, but they are considered secondary options due to higher dosing complexity, greater pill burden, or less clinical data.[1]