Liver Disease at the 8th CROI

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection actsas an opportunistic illness in HIV-positive persons,since both its incidence and the severity ofHCV-related liver disease are increased. However,the reverse impact, namely the effect of HCVon HIV disease progression and survival, is lesscertain. Several groups reported conflicting resultsat the conference. In a large cohort (n = 1742) followedat the Johns Hopkins in Baltimore (Sulkowskiet al. Abstract 34), HCV infection was not associatedwith a faster CD4 decline or risk ofdeath in a multivariate analysis after consideringHAART use.