title: Peginterferon alfa-2a plus ribavirin for treating chronic hepatitis C virus infection: analysis of Mexican patients included in a multicenter international clinical trial.
abstract: Treatment with polyethylene glycol-modified interferon alfa-2a (peginterferon) alone produces significantly higher sustained antiviral responses than treatment with interferon alfa-2a alone in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. We compared the efficacy and safety of peginterferon alfa-2a plus ribavirin, interferon alfa-2b plus ribavirin, and peginterferon alfa-2a alone in the initial treatment of chronic hepatitis C. Thirty-two patients were randomly assigned to treatment, and received at least one dose of medication consisting of 180 microg of peginterferon alfa-2a once weekly plus daily ribavirin (1,000 or 1,200 mg, depending on body weight) (n = 14), weekly peginterferon alfa-2a plus daily placebo (n = 6), or three million units of interferon alfa-2b thrice weekly plus daily ribavirin for 48 weeks (n = 12). More patients who received peginterferon alfa-2a plus ribavirin had a sustained virologic response (defined as the absence of detectable HCV RNA 24 weeks after cessation of therapy) than patients who received interferon alfa-2b plus ribavirin (7/14 vs. 4/12) or peginterferon alfa-2a plus placebo (0/6). The overall safety profiles of the three treatment regimens were similar. In conclusion, for patients with chronic hepatitis C, once-weekly peginterferon alfa-2a plus ribavirin was tolerated as well as interferon alfa-2b plus ribavirin and produced significant improvements in the rate of sustained viral reduction compared with interferon alfa-2b plus ribavirin or peginterferon alfa-2a alone.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Medicina Interna, Servicio de Gastroenterologia, Hospital Universitario Dr. José E. González UANL, Monterrey NL México. fbosques58@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bosques-Padilla
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Trejo-Estrada
authors.forename: Octaivio
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Campollo-Rivas
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cortez-Hernández
authors.forename: Margarita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dehesa-Violante
authors.forename: Héctor
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Maldonado-Garza
authors.forename: Rául
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pérez-Gómez
authors.forename: Armando
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cabrera-Valdespino
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000187:drug effects*; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007279:Injections, Subcutaneous; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D007372:Interferons; D007391:International Cooperation; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico; D008875:Middle Aged; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D011336:Probability; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012016:Reference Values; D012254:Ribavirin / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D012254:Ribavirin; D007372:Interferons; C100416:peginterferon alfa-2a