Objective : To evaluate the long-term benefit and risk of interferon (IFN) therapy for chronic hepatitis C.
Methods : Seventy-five patients with chronic hepatitis C who were treated with IFN at our hospitals in 1992 and 1993 were enrolled. Observation of general condition, incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and all events were followed up for ten years.
Results : HCC was observed in 12 patients (16%), six of whom died. In two cases, HCC was suspected and could not be ruled-out, and four patients died of other causes. Adverse events which needed continuous treatment or follow-up were observed in 34 cases (45%). No HCC was observed in cases whose ALT was maintained within the normal range. Sixteen cases (19%) have been in stable good condition, free from HCC or adverse events.
Discussion : Adverse events including drug adverse reactions after IFN were varied and some were irreversible. Patients who had such adverse reactions were forced to continue some treatments for adverse reactions and had difficulties in daily life. It is desirable that treatments for refractory cases are developed, but there are also new risks with long-term treatment. Monitoring and analysis of the adverse events and the total death rate will be more important.

We investigated the number of drugs and pharmaceutical cost among 159 patients prescribed Western medicine and hospitalized from August 2006 to August 2015 in the Department of Oriental (Kampo) Medicine at Chiba University Hospital. The number of drugs used in Western medicine among improved patients significantly decreased from 5.6 ± 3.6 at hospitalization to 5.3 ± 3.5 at discharge, but the number of Kampo medicine drugs was not changed. The total number of drugs including both Western medicine and Kampo medicine significantly decreased from 7.0 ± 3.8 to 6.7 ± 3.6. The number of drugs used in Western medicine among nochanged patients decreased from 5.1 ± 3.4 at hospitalization to 5.0 ± 3.7 at discharge, but the number of Kampo medicine drugs significantly increased from 1.0 ± 0.0 at hospitalization to 1.3 ± 0.5. The total number of drugs including both Western medicine and Kampo medicine increased from 6.1 ± 3.4 to 6.3 ± 3.9. We thus conclude that a combination of Kampo medicine with Western medicine can be useful for reducing the number of drugs related to polypharmacy. To achieve these results, it is essential to use the concept of sho (a way of pattern recognition of a patient's symptoms in Kampo medicine).