Early sofosbuvir-ledipasvir treatment for acute HCV infection induced severe immune thrombocytopenia – a case report

Abstract Background Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a recognised cause of secondary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). While its incidence has been largely described during chronic HCV infection, only one case of ITP secondary to acute HCV infection has been reported at this time. Case presentation...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Vincent Alcazer, Patrick Miailhes, Christophe Ramière, Caroline Charre, Laurent Cotte
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2018-12-01
Series:BMC Infectious Diseases
Subjects:
Online Access:http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12879-018-3597-4
Description
Summary:Abstract Background Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a recognised cause of secondary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). While its incidence has been largely described during chronic HCV infection, only one case of ITP secondary to acute HCV infection has been reported at this time. Case presentation We report herein the case of severe ITP secondary to an acute HCV genotype 1a reinfection in a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-negative man having sex with men who had been cured several years before of a previous acute genotype 4d HCV infection. After an unsuccessful standard therapy with two courses of intravenous immunoglobulin (at 1 g/kg daily for 2 days) associated with methylprednisolone 1 mg/kg daily, antiviral treatment with sofosbuvir-ledipasvir rapidly achieved virological response and normalised the platelet count. Conclusions As a direct effect of HCV on megakaryocytes could be the predominant cause of ITP during acute infection, early antiviral treatment may be beneficial in this case.
ISSN:1471-2334