Dual therapy with pegylated interferon and ribavirin is recommended for patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection who meet criteria for treatment, but it is unclear whether pegylated interferon alfa-2a or pegylated interferon alfa-2b is more effective or associated with fewer adverse events. Because data from head-to-head trials of pegylated interferon regimens are sparse, we performed ...

background rapid virological response (rvr) strongly predicts sustained virological response (svr) in patients with chronic hepatitis c (chc), and abbreviates antiviral therapy in some patients. objectives to identify factors predicting virological relapse (vr) in chc patients who attained rvr. patients and methods medical records of 133 chc patients with an rvr after completing 24 weeks of ant...

BACKGROUND Any benefit of adjuvant interferon alfa-2b for melanoma could depend on dose and duration of treatment. Our aim was to determine whether pegylated interferon alfa-2b can facilitate prolonged exposure while maintaining tolerability. METHODS 1256 patients with resected stage III melanoma were randomly assigned to observation (n=629) or pegylated interferon alfa-2b (n=627) 6 mug/kg pe...

PURPOSE Recent clinical trials have evaluated treatment strategies for chronic infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) in patients co-infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Our objective was to use these data to examine the cost-effectiveness of treating HCV in an urban cohort of co-infected patients. METHODS A computer-based model, together with available published data, was used t...

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype is an important predictive outcome parameter for pegylated interferon plus ribavirin therapy. Most published therapeutic trials to date have enrolled mainly patients with HCV genotypes 1, 2 and 3. Limited studies have focused on genotype 4 patients, who have had a poor representation in pivotal trials. Our aim was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of trea...

BACKGROUND To our knowledge, the antiviral activity of pegylated interferon alfa-2a has not been studied in participants with untreated human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection but without chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. METHODS Untreated HIV-1-infected volunteers without HCV infection received 180 microg of pegylated interferon alfa-2a weekly for 12 weeks. Changes in ...

background: pegylated interferon and ribavirin are currently one of the accepted treatment for chronic hepatitis c. dermatologic complications of interferon have been reported, but to date a few cases of bacterial cellulitis; a rare and severe complication, have been published. cellulitis is a common infectious process affecting the skin and subcutaneous tissues which results in significant mor...

BACKGROUND At least 2.7 million Americans are infected with chronic hepatitis C. An increasing number are treated with interferon alfa plus ribavirin regimens. Not surprisingly, this immune stimulation is associated with the development of autoimmune and cutaneous diseases. Several cases of sarcoidosis have been reported with hepatitis C treatment, most recently in association with pegylated in...

Abbreviations: FCH, fibrosing cholestatic hepatitis; HAV, hepatitis A virus; HBIG, hepatitis B immunoglobulin; HBV, hepatitis B virus; HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma; HCV, hepatitis C virus; HCV-R, HCV recurrence; HDV, hepatitis D virus; HEV, hepatitis E virus; HVPG, hepatic venous pressure gradient; IgM, immunoglobulin M; LADR, low accelerated dose regimen; LAM, lamivudine; IFNa , interferon al...

Interferon is used to treat hepatitis C virus infection and its cutaneous side effects are well known. Recently, interferon-induced sarcoidosis has been reported. We report a new case of sarcoidosis during pegylated interferon alfa and ribavirin treatment with an unusual presentation in a woman with previous episodes of erythema nodusum and nodular vasculitis related to HCV.