Interferon-alpha therapy for children with chronic hepatitis C.
We followed 53 children with chronic hepatitis C for more than 3 years. Spontaneous remission occurred only 3 (6%) in whom the serum titer of HCV-RNA was low. We considered interferon (IFN) should be adopted in all children with chronic hepatitis C but those who expected to be remitted spontaneously. We evaluated the effect of IFN therapy on 32 children and investigated factors that may influence the outcome of the treatment. A complete response was obtained in 13 children (41%). IFN was well tolerated.
Department of Pediatrics, National Defense Medical College, Saitama, Japan.
T
T
Fujisawa
A
A
Inui
H
H
Komatsu
Y
Y
Miyagawa
M
M
Onoue
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male
D016898:Interferon-alpha