Oral ribavirin for prevention of severe liver disease caused by hepatitis C virus during allogeneic bone marrow transplantation.

Four allogeneic bone marrow transplant patients who were infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) before bone marrow transplantation (BMT) were treated with oral ribavirin during and after transplantation. None of the patients had severe liver complications. One patient died early. Polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed that two patients who were HCV RNA-positive before BMT became HCV RNA-negative during therapy and remained HCV RNA-negative during 6 and 12 months of follow-up, respectively. No severe side effects of ribavirin were documented. Ribavirin therapy can be given safely to patients undergoing BMT and can result in clearance of HCV RNA.