Modest improvements were observed in health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) following sustained viral response (SVR) among individuals coinfected with HIV/HCV and treated with oral direct-acting antivirals (DAA), a recent study found. Researchers investigated the real-world impact of oral DAA therapy on HR-QoL using data from the Canadian HIV/HCV Co-Infection Cohort Study that followed 1,795 participants from 18 centers. Participants initiating oral DAAs, having at least 1 visit before treatment initiation and at least 1 visit after DAA treatment response was ascertained were included. Among the findings:

• 227 participants met eligibility criteria, 93% of whom achieved SVR.
• Before treatment, the EQ-5D utility index decreased 0.6 percentage-points/year and health state was constant over time.
• The immediate effect of SVR resulted in an increase of 2.3-units in patients’ health state and 2.0 percentage-point increase in utility index.
• Health state continued to increase post-SVR by 1.4 units/year while utility trends post-SVR plateaued over the observation period.