TREATMENT OF CHRONIC HEPATITIS-C WITH INTERFERON-ALPHA BY MONITORING THE RESPONSE ACCORDING TO VIREMIA

In chronic hepatitis C (HCV) infection, treatment with interferon is a ssociated with a rather low rate of sustained response and many treate d patients do not achieve significant benefit. Efforts have therefore been made to identify non-responders as early as possible to avoid unj ustified costs and side-effects, We treated 106 cases of HCV with an a lgorithm based on the results of sequential alanine aminotransferase ( ALT) and HCV RNA determinations, using an initial dose of 6 MU thrice weekly for 4 months, and modified the subsequent treatment according t o the biochemical and virological profile, Thirty-three out of 48 pati ents (68.7%) who were HCV RNA negative with normal ALT at 4 months aft er initiation of treatment were sustained responders when treated for an additional 4-month period with a reduced 3 MU dose, while sustained response was achieved in 12.5% of HCV RNA positive patients treated w ith a higher dosage and for a more prolonged period of time, Our findi ngs indicate that HCV RNA monitoring during interferon therapy may be useful in modifying of the treatment schedule for the individual patie nt.