The Korean Journal of Hepatology  2010;16(2):187-191

doi:10.3350/kjhep.2010.16.2.187

Occurrence of diabetic ketoacidosis and autoimmune thyroiditis in a patient treated with pegylated interferon-alpha 2b and ribavirin for chronic hepatitis C.

Yun Nah LEE 1 ; Soung Won JEONG ; Jae Hee LIM ; Yang Seon RYU ; Seong Ran JEON ; Sang Kyun KIM ; Jae Young JANG ; Young Seok KIM ; Boo Sung KIM ; Mi Oh ROH

Affiliations

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Keywords

Hepatitis C, chronic; Interferon Alfa-2b; Diabetes Mellitus, type 1; Thyroiditis, autoimmune

Country

Republic of Korea

Language

Korean

Abstract

Combined pegylated interferon and ribavirin therapy for chronic hepatitis C infection cause a wide range of side effects, including flu-like syndrome, hematological abnormalities, cardiovascular symptoms, gastrointestinal symptoms, pulmonary dysfunction, depression, and retinopathy. Interferon-alpha has been shown to be related to the development of various autoimmune diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune thyroid disease, and type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM). Type 1 DM and thyroid disease respectively develop in 0.08~2.61% and 10~15% of patients treated with combined interferon-alpha and ribavirin for chronic hepatitis C. The coexistence of type 1 DM and autoimmune thyroiditis was rarely reported. We report a case of a 33-year-old female patient with chronic hepatitis C who simultaneously developed diabetic ketoacidosis and autoimmune thyroiditis after treatment with pegylated interferon-alpha 2b and ribavirin.