Long term follow-up and patterns of response of ALT in patients with chronic hepatitis NANB/C treated with recombinant interferon-alpha.
The response to interferon treatment in chronic hepatitis NANB/C has usually been classified as complete, partial or absent, according to the behavior of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT). However, a more detailed observation of the enzymatic activity has shown that the patterns may be more complex. The aim of this study was to describe the long term follow-up and patterns of ALT response in patients with chronic hepatitis NANB/C treated with recombinant interferon-alpha. A follow-up of 6 months or more after interferon-alpha was achieved in 44 patients. We have classified the serum ALT responses into six patterns and the observed frequencies were as follows: I. Long term response = 9 (20.5%); II. Normalization followed by persistent relapse after IFN = 7 (15.9%); III. Normalization with transient relapse = 5 (11.9%); IV. Temporary normalization and relapse during IFN = 4 (9.1%); V. Partial response (more than 50% of ALT decrease) = 7 (15.9%); VI. No response = 12 (27.3%). In conclusion, ALT patterns vary widely during and after IFN treatment and can be classified in at least 6 types.
Department of Gastroenterology-Hepatology branch, University of São Paulo, School of Medicine, São Paulo, Brazil.
L C
LC
da Silva
S K
SK
Ono
L E
LE
Fonseca
F J
FJ
Carrilho
L C
LC
Mendes
A V
AV
França
C L
CL
Madruga
A A
AA
Laudanna
D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood*; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012008:Recurrence
D000998:Antiviral Agents; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D000410:Alanine Transaminase