Efficacy of initial treatment with peginterferon alpha-2a versus peginterferon alpha-2b in combination with ribavirin in naive chronic hepatitis C patients living in Daejeon and Chungcheong Province in Korea: A comparative study.
10.3350/kjhep.2008.14.4.493
- Author:
Jeong Il KIM
1
;
Seok Hyun KIM
;
Byung Seok LEE
;
Heon Young LEE
;
Tae Hee LEE
;
Young Woo KANG
;
Hyang Ie LEE
;
An Na KIM
;
Soon Woo NAM
;
Byeong Chool PARK
;
Hee Bok CHAE
;
Seok Bae KIM
;
Il Han SONG
;
Ji Young PARK
;
Hong Su KIM
Author Information
1. Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Korea. midoctor@cnuh.co.kr
- Publication Type:Original Article ; Comparative Study ; English Abstract
- Keywords:
Peginterferon;
Ribavirin;
Efficacy;
Adverse effects;
Hepatitis C
- MeSH:
Adult;
Antiviral Agents/*administration & dosage;
Combined Modality Therapy;
Genotype;
Hepacivirus/drug effects/genetics;
Hepatitis C, Chronic/diagnosis/*drug therapy;
Humans;
Interferon Alfa-2a/*administration & dosage;
Interferon Alfa-2b/*administration & dosage;
Korea;
Middle Aged;
Polyethylene Glycols/*administration & dosage;
Retrospective Studies;
Ribavirin/*administration & dosage;
Risk Factors
- From:The Korean Journal of Hepatology
2008;14(4):493-502
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
BACKGROUNDS/AIMS: Peginterferon alpha-2a or -2b is the standard treatment regimen in chronic hepatitis C. However, there have been few comparative studies of the efficacies of these two types of peginterferon. We evaluated their efficacies in combination with ribavirin as a initial treatment for chronic hepatitis C. METHODS: Ninety-seven patients were treated with peginterferon alpha-2a (180 microgram/week, n=48) or peginterferon alpha-2b (1.5 microgram/kg/week, n=49) plus ribavirin (800 mg/day for 24 weeks in genotype non-1 or 1,000-1,200 mg/day for 48 weeks in genotype 1). Virologic responses including the early virologic response (EVR), end-of-treatment response (ETR), sustained virologic response (SVR), and adverse effects were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: The virologic response rates did not differ significantly between peginterferon alpha-2a and -2b: 89.6% and 89.7% for EVR, 79.2% and 79.5% for ETR, 72.9% and 73.5% for SVR, respectively. Analysis of the virologic responses according to genotype also revealed no significant differences in SVR between peginterferon alpha-2a and -2b (59.3% vs. 59.7% for genotype 1 and 90.5% vs. 83.3% for genotype non-1, respectively), or in adverse effects including flu-like symptom, rash, itching, neutropenia, and thrombocytopenia. CONCLUSIONS: We found no significant differences in therapeutic efficacies and adverse effects between the alpha-2a and -2b types of peginterferon as the initial treatment regimen in naive chronic hepatitis C patients.
