PAINLESS THYROIDITIS OCCURRING DURING LONG-TERM TREATMENT WITH INTERFERON-ALFA IN A PATIENT WITH CHRONIC ACTIVE HEPATITIS-C

We describe here painless thyroiditis during interferon (IFN) therapy in a 65-year-old man with chronic active hepatitis C. The patient had hypothyroidism in the late stage of a 24-week course of treatment with LFN-alpha. After cessation of the treatment a small, firm goiter was noticed, and chronic focal thyroiditis was diagnosed histologically. A nalyses of the stock serum samples drawn before, during, and after IFN -ol therapy revealed transient hyperthyroidism followed by transient h ypothyroid states with aggravation of antithyroid hormone antibody tit ers. These findings suggest that long-term IFN-alpha therapy caused pa inless thyroiditis with aggravation of autoimmunity in our patient wit h preexisting chronic thyroiditis.