Protective Effect of Nevirapine on Liver Fibrosis Progression in HIV/HCV Coinfected Patients

An association between exposure to nevirapine (NVP)and reduced liver fibrosis progression in HIV/HCV coinfectedpatients was recently reported by Spanishinvestigators (Berenguer, et al. Clin Infect Dis.2008;46:137-43). The authors examined 201 coinfectedpatients who underwent a liver biopsy as partof a pretreatment assessment of chronic hepatitis C.As in prior studies that had examined correlates ofexposure to antiretroviral therapy and hepatic damage,liver fibrosis progression was calculated afterdividing the fibrosis stage score by the estimatedduration of HCV infection (Benhamou, et al. Hepatology.1999;30:1054-8).