LETTER
Eradication of Hepatitis C Virus after Interferon-
Therapy
Tekin Akpolat;
Esin Ozyilkan; and
Nurol Arik
15 March 1995 | Volume 122 Issue 6 | Pages 474-475
TO THE EDITOR:
Hepatitis C virus is the most common cause of chronic liver disease in patients receiving hemodialysis, and renal transplantation is contraindicated in patients with chronic active hepatitis and cirrhosis because of the risk for progression of their liver disease.
Interferon is the most commonly used treatment for HCV-related chronic hepatitis in patients without uremia. As reported by Romeo and colleagues [2] interferon therapy may lead to complete eradication of virus in some long-term responders. However, these investigators mentioned that patients on hemodialysis cannot receive interferon therapy.
Data about the effectiveness of interferon therapy in patients receiving hemodialysis are limited, but short-term results are promising [3-6]. Toxic effects of interferon were mild and self-limited when the dosage of interferon was 3 million units three times a week [3, 4], although Vogel and colleagues [5] reported serious side effects when interferon was used at 5 million units three times a week. Thus, interferon therapy may not be contraindicated in these patients.
In fact, we believe that interferon therapy with close follow-up for side effects such as leukopenia may be useful in patients with HCV-related chronic liver disease who receive hemodialysis.
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Author and Article Information
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Lahey Clinic, Bedford, MA 01805. Ondokuz Mayis University, School of Medicine, Samsun, Turkey 55139. Universita Degli Studi di Milano, 20122 Milan, Italy.
1. Romeo R, Pol S, Berthelot P, Brechot C. Eradication of hepatitis C virus RNA after 
-interferon therapy. Ann Intern Med. 1994; 121:276-7.
2. Ozyilkan E, Simsek H, Uzunalimoglu B, Telatar H. Interferon treatment of chronic active hepatitis C in patients with end-stage chronic renal failure. Nephron. 1995; (In press).
4. Ellis ME, Alfurayh O, Halim MA, Sieck JO, Ali MA, Bernvil SS, et al. Chronic non-A, non-B hepatitis complicated by end-stage renal failure treated with recombinant interferon . J Hepatol. 1993; 18:210-6.
5. Vogel W, Prommegger R, Stummvoll HK, Never U, Grunewald K, Koenig P. Interferon treatment of hepatitis C virus infection in patients on maintenance hemodialysis (Abstract). Hepatology. 1993; 18:91A.
6. Espinoza M, Gonzales R, Mata M, Alvarez M, Martin-Malo A, Berdud I, et al. Treatment of chronic hepatitis C in haemodialysis patients with interferon (Abstract). Nephrol Dial Transplant. 1993; 8:967.
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