title: Acute pancreatitis associated with pegylated interferon-alpha-2a therapy in chronic hepatitis C.
abstract: Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major cause of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Combination therapy of pegylated interferon-alpha (PEG-IFN-α) and ribavirin (RBV) is a current standard treatment for chronic HCV infection in Korea, which has considerable adverse effects. Acute pancreatitis is a rare complication of PEG-IFN-α administration. We report a case of a 62-year-old female who experienced acute pancreatitis after 4 weeks of PEG-IFN-α-2a and RBV combination therapy for chronic HCV infection. The main cause of the acute pancreatitis in this case was probably PEG-IFN-α rather than RBV for several reasons. A few cases have been reported in which acute pancreatitis occurred during treatment with PEG-IFN-α-2b. This is the first report of acute pancreatitis associated with PEG-IFN-α-2a in Korea.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Inje University Ilsan Paik Hospital, Goyang, Korea.
authors.forename: Jong Wook
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Inje University Ilsan Paik Hospital, Goyang, Korea.
authors.forename: June Sung
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Inje University Ilsan Paik Hospital, Goyang, Korea.
authors.forename: Woo Hyun
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Paik
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Inje University Ilsan Paik Hospital, Goyang, Korea.
authors.forename: Tae Jun
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Inje University Ilsan Paik Hospital, Goyang, Korea.
authors.forename: Jung Wook
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Inje University Ilsan Paik Hospital, Goyang, Korea.
authors.forename: Won Ki
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Bae
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Inje University Ilsan Paik Hospital, Goyang, Korea.
authors.forename: Kyung-Ah
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Inje University Ilsan Paik Hospital, Goyang, Korea.
authors.forename: Jung Gon
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000681:Amylases / Q000032:analysis; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008049:Lipase / Q000032:analysis; D008875:Middle Aged; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000209:etiology*; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D056910:Republic of Korea; D012254:Ribavirin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D012254:Ribavirin; D008049:Lipase; D000681:Amylases; C100416:peginterferon alfa-2a
keywords: Hepatitis C virus; Pancreatitis; Pegylated interferon alpha-2a