title: [A five-year follow-up of one hundred and thirty-six patients of hepatitis C].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the clinical outcome and effect of interferon treatment on patients with chronic hepatitis C.
  
  
  METHODS
  136 cases of patients with chronic hepatitis C were followed up by methods of retrospective survey combined with prospective study. SPSS16. 0 was used to perform chi-square test and multiple logistic regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  136 cases of patients were infected with HCV virus mainly through blood and blood products transfusion. They were diagnosed mainly between 2000 and 2005. 98 cases of them had anti-viral treatment with interferon and ribavirin, while the rest did not; 12 new cases developed HCV-related cirrhosis or liver carcinoma in five years, which accounted for 8.8% of the total. Among 76 cases once treated with interferon, 46 cases (60.5%) relapsed in five years. For patients with age < 40, the rates of cirrhosis and liver cancer were 0, and patients with age ≥ 40 but < 60 years, the rates of cirrhosis and liver cancer were 12.5% (7/56 cases), while for those ≥ 60 years old the rates were 35.7% (10/28 cases). The difference was significant ( B = 0.111, Wald = 4.324, P = 0.038) as analysed by logistic regression. The rates of cirrhosis and liver cancer were zero for those with normal or within twice the upper normal AST limit in five years, 43.5% (10/23 cases) for those with AST ranging from 2 to 4 fold the upper normal limit, and 58.3% (7/12 cases) for those with AST higher than four times the upper normal limit. The difference was also significant ( B = 2.184, Wald = 5.443, P = 0.02) by logistic regression analysis. The rate of relapse was 29.7% (11/37 cases) for those using pegylated interferon and 89.7% (35/39 cases) for those using interferon. The difference was significant ( Result of logistic regression showed-B = -2.077, Wald = 4.352, P = 0.037). The rate of relapse was 100% (15/15 cases) for those with treatment less than 24 weeks, 76.2% (16/21 cases) for those with treatment more than 24 weeks but less than 48 weeks, and 37.5% (14/40 cases) for those with treatment more than 48 weeks. The difference was significant (Result of logistic regression showed-B = -1.632, Wald = 6.651, P = 0.01). 42 cases of the relapsed (91.3%) were administrated with interferon once again with ideal effect.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Hepatitis C virus infection increases the risk of liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. Interferon combined with ribavirin therapy could effectively control the virus and improve outcomes. We can reduce the incidence of relapse by choosing the treatment of pegylated interferon instead of interferon and by completing the full treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510630, China.
authors.forename: Lan-hui
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: She
authors.forename: Chao-shuang
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Qing-xian
authors.initials: QX
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: Xiao-hong
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yuan-kai
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Zhi-xin
authors.initials: ZX
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Zhi-liang
authors.initials: ZL
authors.lastname: Gao
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D016898:Interferon-alpha