Serum/eritrocyte Ribavirin×100 Ratio As an Indicator of SVR in HCV Genotype-1 Patients Obtaining EVR

Background. Virologic predictors during treatment with peg-interferon and ribavirin of hepatitis C are useful as they allow early discontinuation of an unnecessary and expensive treatment in non-responders. In this setting early virologic response (EVR), defined as viral load decline ≥2 log10 or undetectable HCV-RNA at week 12 of treatments has emerged as a useful tool to continue treatment. Unfortunately, while EVR negative predictive value (NPV) is high, as approximately 2% only of patients not matching EVR may achieve a sustained virological response (SVR), the positive predictive value (PPV), in particular in genotype-1 patients, is low (∼60%). Other indicators may be needed to predict SVR and in particular in those obtaining EVR.