{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T04:51:02Z","timestamp":1787028662834,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"22","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,16]],"date-time":"2025-11-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1763251200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: This study was conducted in an infectious disease clinic in southeastern Romania on a cohort of patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. It aims to longitudinally evaluate biochemical parameters and the progression of liver fibrosis following treatment with direct-acting antivirals. Methods: One hundred eighty-one patients who experienced improvement in hepatic fibrosis 1\u20138 years after treatment (group A) were compared with eighty-six patients (except F0\u2013F1) who had stable fibrosis or experienced worsening of hepatic fibrosis after antiviral treatment (group B). Results: The study demonstrated improvement and normalization of mean biochemical parameters in both groups, starting 4 weeks after initiation of therapy and remaining stable up to 5 years post-treatment. The only biochemical parameter that did not return to normal values was serum glucose, which showed elevated mean levels in both groups, with the highest values observed at 5 years post-treatment. Among all 267 patients, 181 (67.79%) showed improvement in hepatic fibrosis after DAA (direct-acting antivirals) therapy, 62 (23.22%) had stable fibrosis, and 24 (8.98%) experienced fibrosis worsening. Of those with improvement, 115 (63.53%) improved by one fibrosis stage, 49 (27.07%) by two stages, and 17 (9.39%) by three stages. Conclusions: This study highlights that more than half of Romanian HCV patients experienced regression of hepatic fibrosis and sustained normalization of most biochemical parameters up to 5 years after DAA treatment, confirming the long-term hepatic benefits of antiviral therapy.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm14228112","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,19]],"date-time":"2025-11-19T12:55:31Z","timestamp":1763556931000},"page":"8112","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Evolution of Liver Fibrosis in Romanian HCV Patients Following Treatment with Direct-Acting Antivirals"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Alexia Anastasia Stefania","family":"Balta","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine & Pharmacy, \u2018Dun\u0103rea de Jos\u2019 University of Gala\u021bi, 800008 Gala\u021bi, Romania"},{"name":"Clinical Emergency County Hospital \u2018Sf. Ap. Andrei\u2019, 800578 Galati, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-3466-4717","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Raisa Eloise","family":"Uibariu Barbu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine & Pharmacy, \u2018Dun\u0103rea de Jos\u2019 University of Gala\u021bi, 800008 Gala\u021bi, Romania"},{"name":"Clinical Children Emergency Hospital \u2018Sf. Ioan\u2019, 800487 Galati, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7602-8435","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Liliana","family":"Baroiu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine & Pharmacy, \u2018Dun\u0103rea de Jos\u2019 University of Gala\u021bi, 800008 Gala\u021bi, Romania"},{"name":"Clinical Hospital of Infectious Diseases \u2018Sf. Cuv. Parascheva\u2019, 800179 Galati, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Valentin","family":"Bulza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine & Pharmacy, \u2018Dun\u0103rea de Jos\u2019 University of Gala\u021bi, 800008 Gala\u021bi, Romania"},{"name":"General Hospital \u2018CF\u2019, 800223 Galati, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3029-9245","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Florin","family":"Bujoreanu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine & Pharmacy, \u2018Dun\u0103rea de Jos\u2019 University of Gala\u021bi, 800008 Gala\u021bi, Romania"},{"name":"Clinical Hospital of Infectious Diseases \u2018Sf. Cuv. Parascheva\u2019, 800179 Galati, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Marius","family":"Moroianu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine & Pharmacy, \u2018Dun\u0103rea de Jos\u2019 University of Gala\u021bi, 800008 Gala\u021bi, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mariana Daniela","family":"Ignat","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine & Pharmacy, \u2018Dun\u0103rea de Jos\u2019 University of Gala\u021bi, 800008 Gala\u021bi, Romania"},{"name":"Clinical Hospital of Infectious Diseases \u2018Sf. Cuv. Parascheva\u2019, 800179 Galati, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Simona Claudia","family":"Cambrea","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine & Pharmacy, Ovidius\u2019 University of Constanta, 900527 Constanta, Romania"},{"name":"Clinical Hospital of Infectious Diseases, 900178 Constanta, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4679-899X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Elena","family":"Dumea","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine & Pharmacy, Ovidius\u2019 University of Constanta, 900527 Constanta, Romania"},{"name":"Clinical Hospital of Infectious Diseases, 900178 Constanta, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Valerian","family":"Stoian","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine & Pharmacy, \u2018Dun\u0103rea de Jos\u2019 University of Gala\u021bi, 800008 Gala\u021bi, Romania"},{"name":"National Institute of Public Health, 050463 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"World Health Organization (2025, August 25). 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