title: Treatment of chronic hepatitis C with interferon-alpha by monitoring the response according to viraemia.
abstract: In chronic hepatitis C (HCV) infection, treatment with interferon is associated with a rather low rate of sustained response and many treated patients do not achieve significant benefit. Efforts have therefore been made to identify non-responders as early as possible to avoid unjustified costs and side-effects. We treated 106 cases of HCV with an algorithm based on the results of sequential alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and HCV RNA determinations, using an initial dose of 6 MU thrice weekly for 4 months, and modified the subsequent treatment according to the biochemical and virological profile. Thirty-three out of 48 patients (68.7%) who were HCV RNA negative with normal ALT at 4 months after initiation of treatment were sustained responders when treated for an additional 4-month period with a reduced 3 MU dose, while sustained response was achieved in 12.5% of HCV RNA positive patients treated with a higher dosage and for a more prolonged period of time. Our findings indicate that HCV RNA monitoring during interferon therapy may be useful in modifying of the treatment schedule for the individual patient.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Internal Medicine, University School of Medicine, Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bonetti
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chemello
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Antona
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Breda
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Brosolo
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Casarin
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Crivellàro
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Donà
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Martinelli
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rinaldi
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Zennaro
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Santonastaso
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Urban
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pontisso
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alberti
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014766:Viremia
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D012367:RNA, Viral; D000410:Alanine Transaminase