Formation of Antibodies to Factor VIII in Patients with Hemophilia A Who Are Treated with Interferon for Chronic Hepatitis C

15 August 1996 | Volume 125 Issue 4 | Pages 297-299

Objective: To evaluate the risk for development of antibodies to factor VIII (factor VIII inhibitors) during and after interferon therapy in patients with hemophilia A and chronic hepatitis C infection.

Design: Patients were divided into two treatment groups and an untreated control group. Test results from the two treatment groups were compared with those from the control group.

Setting: 3 clinical centers in the Netherlands.

Patients: 35 men with hemophilia A who had acquired hepatitis C through the use of plasma-derived clotting factor concentrates.

Measurements: Patients were tested for factor VIII inhibitors before the start of interferon therapy and every 6 months thereafter.

Results: 21 patients with hemophilia A received interferon therapy for chronic hepatitis C infection for a mean of 19.5 months (range, 0.5 to 36 months). In 2 patients, inhibitors were detected on one occasion (maximum titer, 1.2 Bethesda units/mL) during interferon therapy. In 3 patients who were known to have had inhibitors before interferon therapy, no anamnestic reaction was seen during treatment. In 3 of 14 untreated controls who were followed for a mean of 28 months (range, 18 to 40 months), inhibitors were detected on one occasion (maximum titer, 2.3 Bethesda units/mL).

Conclusion: Long-term interferon therapy in patients with hemophilia did not increase the risk for development of factor VIII inhibitors.

Author and Article Information

From University Hospital Utrecht and Wilhelmina Children's Hospital, Utrecht, the Netherlands; and Red Cross Blood Bank, Central Laboratory of the Netherlands Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service, and Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Requests for Reprints: Eveline P. Mauser-Bunschoten, MD, PhD, Van Creveld Clinic, University Hospital Utrecht, Postbox 85500, 3508 AG Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Current Author Addresses: Drs. Mauser-Bunschoten, Roosendaal, and van den Berg: Van Creveld Clinic, University Hospital Utrecht, Postbox 85500, 3508 AG Utrecht, the Netherlands.