Hemoglobin Decrease with Iron Deficiency Induced by Daclatasvir plus Asunaprevir Combination Therapy for Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Genotype 1b.

Background: Decreased hemoglobin (Hb) level has been supposed to be a relatively rare side effect of a combination therapy against hepatitis C virus that consists of the NS5A inhibitor daclatasvir (DCV) and the NS3/4A protease inhibitor asunaprevir (ASV). Methods: The study was conducted in 75 patients with genotype 1b chronic hepatitis C virus infection who had started combination therapy with DCV and ASV at St. Marianna University School of Medicine Hospital between September 2014 and December 2014. Results: Among the patients examined, decreased Hb level by ≥1.5 g/dL from the values at treatment initiation was observed in 11 individuals. This was accompanied by decreased mean corpuscular volume, and iron and ferritin levels. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the mechanism of the phenomenon is caused by iron deficiency. The underlying mechanism and clinical impacts will need to be further examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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