title: Time for change: conventional interferon regimes should not be the standard of care for management of Pakistani genotype-3 in chronic hepatitis C.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to determine the efficacy and side effect profile of conventional interferon alpha-2b plus ribavirin for treating chronic hepatitis C genotype-3 infections in Pakistan. The study was conducted on treating 220 treatment-naïve individuals at KRL Hospital with conventional interferon given for 6 months. Both the response and side effects were analyzed using simple descriptive statistics. Out of total cohort, 84.92% (169 out of 199) achieved end of treatment response (ETR) while 63.31% (126 out of 199) achieved sustained virological response (SVR). Leukopenia, gastrointestinal and miscellaneous systemic complaints were the most common adverse effects. In the context of a low ETR and SVR but a similar side effect profile as that of pegylated regimes, conventional therapy needs to be replaced with peg-interferon as the treatment of choice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) Hospital, Islamabad-44000.
authors.forename: Muhammad Saleem
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Qureshi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) Hospital, Islamabad-44000.
authors.forename: Musarrat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Iqbal
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) Hospital, Islamabad-44000.
authors.forename: Ali Zohair
authors.initials: AZ
authors.lastname: Nomani
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) Hospital, Islamabad-44000.
authors.forename: Kamran
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rasheed
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D044466:Asian People / Q000235:genetics; D015992:Body Mass Index; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics*; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007372:Interferons / Q000235:genetics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010154:Pakistan; D012254:Ribavirin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D012254:Ribavirin; D007372:Interferons