title: Peginterferon alpha-2b and acute allograft failure in a heart transplant recipient.
abstract: Reports of heart transplant recipients with hepatitis C viral infection treated with peginterferon alpha-2b and ribavirin are very rare. We report a fatal case of acute allograft failure and hepatitis C viral infection in a 50-year-old orthotopic heart transplant recipient. At autopsy, the patient was found to have patent coronary arteries, diffuse severe fatty degeneration of heart myocytes, and no evidence of cellular or humoral rejection, confirming this as a fatal case of cardiotoxicity from peginterferon alpha-2b.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, Department of Surgery, Taipei Veterans General Hospital and National Yang-Ming University School of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Bing-Yen
authors.initials: BY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Hsiao-Huang
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: I-Ming
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Chun-Che
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Shih
authors.forename: An-Hang
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001344:Autopsy; D018450:Disease Progression; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000473:pathology; D016027:Heart Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000379:methods; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012254:Ribavirin / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013997:Time Factors; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D012254:Ribavirin; C417083:peginterferon alfa-2b