Minimal clinically important differences in health-related quality of life after treatment with direct-acting antivirals for chronic hepatitis C: ANRS CO22 HEPATHER cohort (PROQOL-HCV)

Patient Reported Outcomes Quality of Life survey for HCV (PROQOL-HCV) is a specific tool developed to assess health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with chronic hepatitis C receiving direct-acting antivirals (DAA). Thresholds for clinically meaningful changes in PROQOL-HCV scores should be documented to improve the tool’s use in clinical practice. This study aimed to estimate the minimal clinically important differences (MCIDs) in PROQOL-HCV scores before and after HCV cure by DAA among participants in the prospective cohort ANRS-CO22 HEPATHER. Data from 460 chronic HCV patients were collected at DAA initiation (baseline) and 24 weeks after treatment end. MCIDs were estimated for the six HRQoL dimensions (Physical Health (PH), Emotional Health (EH), Future Uncertainty (FU), Intimate Relationships (IR), Social Health (SH), and Cognitive Functioning (CF)) using two approaches: anchor-based and score distribution-based. Each MCID was estimated for improvement/deterioration both globally and separately for patients with a baseline PRQoL-HCV score ≤ 50 (group1) and patients with a baseline PRQoL-HCV score > 50 (group2). The pooled MCIDs for improvement/deterioration globally, in group1, and in group2, respectively, were as follows: 8.8/− 7.6, 9.7/− 9.5, and 6.0/− 6.9 for PH; 7.1/− 4.6, 7.7/− 9.6, and 6.6/− 6.7 for EH; 6.7/− 6.7, 8.2/− 8.2, and 6.0/− 6.0 for FU; 7.0/− 7.0, 5.4/− 5.4, and 6.2/− 6.2 for IR; 7.7/− 7.7, 8.6/− 8.6, and 6.5/− 6.5 for SH; 7.3/− 5.6, 9.1/− 8.0, and 6.5/− 6.3 for CF. The overall MCID for the PROQOL-HCV scores ranged from 6.7 to 8.8 for improvement and from − 7.7 to − 4.6 for deterioration. The effect of DAA on PROQOL-HCV scores seemed particularly beneficial for patients with lower baseline scores. This subgroup could be motivated to take DAA if they are informed of the benefits for their HRQoL.