Cutaneous Adverse Events in Chronic Hepatitis C Patients Treated With New Direct-Acting Antivirals: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) are known to present with additional dermatological events over pegylated-interferon/ribavirin (Peg-IFN/RBV).

Objective: A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to assess the incidence/risk of cutaneous adverse events (AEs) for simeprevir, sofosbuvir, ABT450/r-ombitasvir, dasabuvir, ledipasvir, daclatasvir, and asunaprevir.

Methods: The databases searched included PubMed, Clinicaltrials.gov, and Clinicaloptions.com. Data on telaprevir and boceprevir were obtained from a previous study.

Results: The incidences of cutaneous AEs were 34.3% (95% CI 18.4%-54.8%) for the old DAAs + Peg-IFN/RBV, 22.0% (95% CI 17.9%-26.8%) for the new DAAs + Peg-IFN/RBV, 9.8% (95% CI 8.6%-11.2%) for the DAAs + RBV, and 3.8% (95% CI 2.4%-6.1%) for DAAs only. Simeprevir + Peg-IFN/RBV was associated with an increased relative risk over Peg-IFN/RBV; RR = 1.319 (95% CI 1.026-1.697).

Conclusion: Dermatological events are still an important issue for many of the new DAAs. Appropriate monitoring, management, and patient education are needed to minimize AEs and achieve HCV cure.