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Abstract
Hepatitis C virus is a major cause of chronic liver disease, infecting 200 million persons worldwide
In Egypt high HCV rates were reported among several population groups reaching up to 20%
Interferon is an effective treatment for chronic hepatitis C, it is an immunomodulatory drug. Ribavirin is a nucleoside analogue, with a broad spectrum of activity against a variety of DNA and RNA viruses. At present, combination therapy with interferon alpha and ribavirin is considered the treatment of choice
Aim of work is to retrospectively study & compare between patients with chronic hepatitis C who had received standard interferon plus ribavirin and patients who had received pegylated interferon plus ribavirin regarding evaluation of the efficacy & the Predictors of response to the proposed treatment.
The study was conducted on 100 patients suffering from chronic hepatitis C who where previously diagnosed and treated in EL-Agouza Police Authority Hospital. These patients were divided into two groups. Group I, comprised 50 patients received standard interferon alpha (3M.I.U) 3 times weekly subcutaneously plus oral ribavirin in a dose ranging from 800-1200 mg/day. Group II, comprised 50 patients received pegylated interferon alfa-2a (180mcg/week) subcutaneously plus oral ribavirin in a dose ranging from 800-1200 mg/day.
The results of this study showed that Once-weekly doses of peg-interferon alpha-2a 180 µg produced significantly higher sustained virological responses than conventional interferon alpha-2a. At the end of follow-up, 66% of patients treated with peg-interferon alpha-2a 180 µg, and 51% of interferon alpha-2a-treated patients had a sustained virological response. Our study revealed that there was highly significant decrease in ALT level in both groups.
from the results of our study we can conclude that:
• Patients in the peg-interferon alpha-2a group were more likely to achieve a sustained virological response than patients in the interferon alpha-2a group.
• Sustained virological response was highly correlated with sustained biochemical response.
• Adverse effects were more liable to occur among peg-interferon alpha-2a group than the standard interferon alpha-2a group.
• Liver biopsy and viral load are best indicators for a favorable response to the therapy