BACKGROUND & AIMS: Sustained response to interferon treatment for chronic hepatitis C is unsatisfactory. This study examined whether combining interferon alfa with ribavirin induces a better sustained efficacy than interferon alone in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. METHODS:Sixty noncirrhotic patients with chronic hepatitis C were randomly assigned to three groups. Group 1 received 1200 mg oral ribavirin daily plus 3 million units of recombinant interferon alfa 2a thrice weekly for 24 weeks, group 2 received the same dose of interferon alfa 2a alone for 24 weeks, and group 3 received no treatment. The patients were then followed up for an additional 96 weeks. RESULTS: At the end of treatment, a complete response (normal serum alanine aminotransferase level and undetectable serum hepatitis C virus RNA) was achieved in 16 of the 21 patients in group 1 (76%), as compared with 6 of 19 in group 2 (32%) and none in group 3. At 96 weeks after the end of treatment, patients in group 1 sustained a higher complete response rate than patients in group 2 (43% vs. 6%). CONCLUSIONS: Combined treatment with ribavirin and interferon alfa 2a for 24 weeks is more effective than interferon alfa 2a alone for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. The biochemical and virological responses were sustained in about one half of the treated patients for at least 2 years after cessation of the therapy.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND & AIMS: Sustained response to interferon treatment for chronic hepatitis C is unsatisfactory. This study examined whether combining interferon alfa with ribavirin induces a better sustained efficacy than interferon alone in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. METHODS: Sixty noncirrhotic patients with chronic hepatitis C were randomly assigned to three groups. Group 1 received 1200 mg oral ribavirin daily plus 3 million units of recombinant interferon alfa 2a thrice weekly for 24 weeks, group 2 received the same dose of interferon alfa 2a alone for 24 weeks, and group 3 received no treatment. The patients were then followed up for an additional 96 weeks. RESULTS: At the end of treatment, a complete response (normal serum alanine aminotransferase level and undetectable serum hepatitis C virus RNA) was achieved in 16 of the 21 patients in group 1 (76%), as compared with 6 of 19 in group 2 (32%) and none in group 3. At 96 weeks after the end of treatment, patients in group 1 sustained a higher complete response rate than patients in group 2 (43% vs. 6%). CONCLUSIONS: Combined treatment with ribavirin and interferon alfa 2a for 24 weeks is more effective than interferon alfa 2a alone for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. The biochemical and virological responses were sustained in about one half of the treated patients for at least 2 years after cessation of the therapy.
Authors: F López-Jiménez; M Brito; Y W Aude; P Scheinberg; M Kaplan; D A Dixon; N Schneiderman; J F Trejo; L H López-Salazar; E J Ramírez-Barba; R Kalil; C Ortiz; J Goyos; A Buenaño; S Kottiech; G A Lamas Journal: Arch Med Res Date: 2000 Jul-Aug Impact factor: 2.235
Authors: Cindy J Bednasz; Joshua R Sawyer; Anthony Martinez; Patrick G Rose; Samantha S Sithole; Holly R Hamilton; Farzia S Kaufman; Charles S Venuto; Qing Ma; Andrew Talal; Gene D Morse Journal: Future Virol Date: 2015 Impact factor: 1.831
Authors: Ioannis S Elefsiniotis; Christos Pavlidis; Elena Vezali; Theodoros Mariolis-Sapsakos; Sotirios Koutsounas; George Saroglou Journal: Gastroenterol Res Pract Date: 2009-04-15 Impact factor: 2.260