Neutrophil Function During Therapy With Protease Inhibitors in Chronic Hepatitis C

The aim of this study is to characterize neutrophil function in patients undergoing chronic hepatitis C triple therapy with protease inhibitors in comparison to dual therapy with peginterferon and ribavirin and with interferon free treatment regimen to thereby elucidate the possible mechanisms of protease-inhibitor associated infections.

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Key information

Conditions

Chronic Hepatitis C Blood-Borne Infections Chronic Disease Communicable Diseases Digestive System Diseases Disease Attributes Flaviviridae Infections Hepatitis Hepatitis C Hepatitis C, Chronic Hepatitis, Chronic Hepatitis, Viral, Human Infections Liver Diseases Pathologic Processes Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms RNA Virus Infections Virus Diseases

Age range

18 year–99 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz

Graz, 8010, Austria

About this study

Chronic hepatitis C infection (CHC) is a major health problem, potentially leading to liver related mortality via complications of liver cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma, and affects more than 185 million persons worldwide. Antiviral therapy evolved during the past 25 years from standard interferon, the combination with ribavirin and pegylated interferon (P/R) to the addition of protease inhibitors and is currently on the edge to an interferon-free era with the first such substances being approved in 2014. However, current standard therapy for CHC genotype 1 patients without cirrhosis consists of ribavirin and pegylated interferon (P/R) in combination with boceprevir (BOC) or telaprevir (TPV), which are direct acting antivirals and represent the first-generation protease inhibitors.

Triple therapy for CHC has been reported to be associated with a quantitative and qualitative increase in treatment-related (serious) adverse events compared to the former standard therapy without protease-inhibitors. Moreover, reports of serious infectious complications during triple therapy - especially in patients with acquired immune deficiencies like liver cirrhosis - that lead to considerable morbidity and mortality, have accumulated recently. The mechanisms of this increased susceptibility to infections remain unclear. However, BOC is known to inhibit neutrophil elastase activity.

Aims of this study were therefore to analyse infections that occurred in CHC outpatients during therapy in the study centre, to prospectively characterize neutrophil function in patients undergoing CHC triple therapy in comparison to dual therapy with peginterferon and ribavirin and to thereby elucidate the possible mechanisms of protease-inhibitor associated infections.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

chronic hepatitis C
planned antiviral therapy

Exclusion criteria

immunosuppressive medication
active infection at baseline
treatment with antibiotics within the last two weeks

Treatment and study plan

Primary outcomes

neutrophil phagocytosis

Time frame: 12 weeks

phagocytosis of labelled E.coli

Secondary outcomes

number of infections

Time frame: 12 weeks

reported infections

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Medical University of Graz

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Neutrophil Function During Combination Therapy With Protease Inhibitors in Chronic Hepatitis C

Important dates

Study start: 2014
Primary completion: 2020
Study completion: 2020
First posted: Sep 9, 2015
Registry last updated: Jan 12, 2023

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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Completed