SIDE-EFFECTS OF ALPHA-INTERFERON THERAPY AND IMPACT ON HEALTH-RELATEDQUALITY-OF-LIFE IN CHILDREN WITH CHRONIC VIRAL-HEPATITIS

Background. Interferon (IFN) is standard therapy for chronic viral hep atitis in children, The aim of this study was to evaluate the side eff ects of alpha-interferon (IFN) in 94 consecutive children (58 males; a ge range, 3 to 14 years) affected by chronic viral hepatitis treated w ith different schedules ranging from 3 to 10 MU and from 3 to 12 month s, and the impact of this therapy on health-related quality of life, M ethods, Side effects were evaluated with clinical and laboratory exami nations and were recorded on a diary card, The health related quality of life was evaluated with a modified version of the Sickness Impact P rofile, Results, All patients experienced at least one adverse reactio n to IFN treatment; 80% had more than five side effects,There were no life-threatening reactions, Three children experienced severe reaction s (febrile seizure, severe hypertransaminasemia and relapsing episodes of epistaxis, respectively) that required permanent IFN withdrawal, A nother child had a febrile seizure requiring temporary IFN withdrawal. In seven children the neutrophil count fell below 1000/mm(3) and prom ptly increased when IFN was temporarily discontinued, The remaining ch ildren had mild or moderate clinical and/or laboratory adverse reactio ns, Age, sex, viral etiology of chronic hepatitis and response to ther apy were not significantly associated with the appearance of side effe cts, The pre-IFN health-related quality of life was good in all childr en; it deteriorated significantly during IFN therapy and returned to b asal standards within 3 months after IFN withdrawal. No patient requir ed suspension of IFN therapy because of worsening of health-related qu ality of life, Conclusion. Children have a low risk of developing seve re IFN-induced side effects, Adverse reactions and worsening of health -related quality of life were tolerable and did not seem to be a limit ing factor for IFN therapy in young candidates.