Wazir Muhammad Khan, Iqbal Haider, Zahid Marwat, Iftikhar Muhammad, Arshad Khan, Khalid Khan.
Side effects profile of therapy for chronic hepatitis C and their management.
J Med Sci Jan ;19(3):133-7.

Objectives: This study was conducted to assess the side effects of combination therapy of conventional interferon and ribavirin in chronic hepatitis C patients and their management. Material and Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted at the Department of Medicine Khyber Teaching Hospital and Department of Pathology PGMI, HMC, Peshawar from March 2009 to June 2010. A total of 350 patients of chronic hepatitis C with reactive anti HCV (Hepatitis C virus) antibodies, elevated ALT, normal echo texture of liver on ultrasound and reactive HCV RNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were enrolled in this study. Genotyping for HCV RNA was not done due to non availability of this test in the hospital and non affordability by patients. These patients received injection interferon alpha2b 3MIU subcutaneous(S/C) thrice weekly for 24 weeks. The prevalence of genotypes 2 and 3 is high in our community, but as we don’t know the exact genotyping of patients, so ribavirin therapy was started in high doses according to body weight. At each visit any side effects were recorded and graded according to modified WHO guidelines as mild, moderate, severe and life threatening. Results: The most common side effects observed in our study were flu like symptoms in 330 (94.29%), hematological in 315 (90%), gastrointestinal in 269 (76.86%), dermatological in 256 (73.14%), neuropsychiatric in 244 (69.71%), respiratory symptoms in 29 (8.29%), thyroid function abnormalities in 11 (3.14%). Most of the adverse effects were mild to moderate. The severe adverse effects leading to dose reduction, use of hematopoietic growth factor, filgastrim or premature discontinuation of treatment were noted in 41 (11.71%) patients. Conclusion: Interferon and ribavirin combination therapy for chronic hepatitis C is not without harmful effects. Early identification and strategies for controlling adverse effects can prevent moderate to severe complications.

PakMediNet -Pakistan's largest Database of Pakistani Medical Journals - http://www.pakmedinet.com