title: Mono-arthritis in a chronic hepatitis B patient after alpha-interferon treatment.
abstract: A 28 year old woman with hepatitis B (HB) related chronic active hepatitis was treated with a 12 week course of alpha-interferon (alpha-IFN). She developed acute mono-arthritis 1 week after completion of treatment. Her rheumatoid factor (RF) was positive before alpha-IFN and fell steadily during therapy. This was followed by a rebound of RF level with the associated arthritis occurring 1 week after completion of the course of alpha-IFN. In absence of any medication RF gradually fell and became negative at the end of 1 year. This observation is thought to be related to the immunomodulatory effect of alpha-IFN either directly on RF production or indirectly through the control of hepatitis.
authors.affiliation: Medical A Unit, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: G C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: E K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Yeoh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001168:Arthritis / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006521:Hepatitis, Chronic / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012217:Rheumatoid Factor / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D016898:Interferon-alpha; D012217:Rheumatoid Factor