title: Study of pruritus in chronic hepatitis C patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the occurrence and severity of pruritus in chronic hepatitis C patients treated with or without interferon (IFN) therapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 89 patients with chronic hepatitis C and 55 control (non-hepatitis) patients were asked to rate their experience of diurnal and nocturnal pruritus in the preceding week using a visual analogue scale (VAS) and a five-point scale, respectively. Blood samples were taken and serum thymus and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC) levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A significantly greater proportion of chronic hepatitis C patients experienced nocturnal pruritus compared with control (58.4% vs 5.5%, P < 0.0001). Chronic hepatitis C patients also had more severe pruritus compared with control patients, indicated by the higher mean VAS scores in both the IFN-treated and non-IFN-treated groups. In particular, patients who received combined peginterferon alfa-2b and ribavirin had significantly higher mean VAS scores than those receiving peginterferon alfa-2a or no IFN treatment. Serum TARC levels did not correlate with pruritus scores, and no significant differences in TARC levels were observed between the IFN-treated and non-IFN-treated groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients with chronic hepatitis C experience pruritus more than those without. Serum TARC levels do not correlate with pruritus severity in chronic hepatitis C patients.
authors.affiliation: Kazuyoshi Suzuki, Masaya Tamano, Yasumi Katayama, Toru Kuniyoshi, Kagemasa Kagawa, Hiroshi Takada, Kazutomo Suzuki, Department of Gastroenterology, Dokkyo Medical University Koshigaya Hospital, Saitama 343-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.affiliation: Kazuyoshi Suzuki, Masaya Tamano, Yasumi Katayama, Toru Kuniyoshi, Kagemasa Kagawa, Hiroshi Takada, Kazutomo Suzuki, Department of Gastroenterology, Dokkyo Medical University Koshigaya Hospital, Saitama 343-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Masaya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tamano
authors.affiliation: Kazuyoshi Suzuki, Masaya Tamano, Yasumi Katayama, Toru Kuniyoshi, Kagemasa Kagawa, Hiroshi Takada, Kazutomo Suzuki, Department of Gastroenterology, Dokkyo Medical University Koshigaya Hospital, Saitama 343-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Katayama
authors.affiliation: Kazuyoshi Suzuki, Masaya Tamano, Yasumi Katayama, Toru Kuniyoshi, Kagemasa Kagawa, Hiroshi Takada, Kazutomo Suzuki, Department of Gastroenterology, Dokkyo Medical University Koshigaya Hospital, Saitama 343-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kuniyoshi
authors.affiliation: Kazuyoshi Suzuki, Masaya Tamano, Yasumi Katayama, Toru Kuniyoshi, Kagemasa Kagawa, Hiroshi Takada, Kazutomo Suzuki, Department of Gastroenterology, Dokkyo Medical University Koshigaya Hospital, Saitama 343-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Kagemasa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kagawa
authors.affiliation: Kazuyoshi Suzuki, Masaya Tamano, Yasumi Katayama, Toru Kuniyoshi, Kagemasa Kagawa, Hiroshi Takada, Kazutomo Suzuki, Department of Gastroenterology, Dokkyo Medical University Koshigaya Hospital, Saitama 343-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takada
authors.affiliation: Kazuyoshi Suzuki, Masaya Tamano, Yasumi Katayama, Toru Kuniyoshi, Kagemasa Kagawa, Hiroshi Takada, Kazutomo Suzuki, Department of Gastroenterology, Dokkyo Medical University Koshigaya Hospital, Saitama 343-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazutomo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suzuki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D054414:Chemokine CCL17 / Q000097:blood; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011537:Pruritus / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012254:Ribavirin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D015415:Biomarkers; C106230:CCL17 protein, human; D054414:Chemokine CCL17; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D012254:Ribavirin; C417083:peginterferon alfa-2b; C100416:peginterferon alfa-2a
keywords: Hepatitis C; Peginterferon; Pruritus; Ribavirin; Thymus and activation-regulated chemokine