Decrease of HCVRNA after three days of daily interferon treatment is predictive of the virological response at one month

Early monitoring of HCVRNA during interferon treatment may allow clinicians to obtain important information that could help them to adopt therapeutic decisions in individual cases. The hepatitis C virus infection is highly dy namic and a daily high dose of IFN may induce a decline of viremia of 95 +/ - 10% of baseline value after 24 to 48 hours of treatment. The importance o f this early antiviral efficacy has not been understood. We have measured H CVRNA levels in 47 patients with chronic hepatitis C infection during inter feron treatment to study HCVRNA kinetics and evaluate the predictive value of the early decay of viremia on the virological response after one month o f treatment. Sixty percent or treated patients showed early virological res ponse (EVR) and it was significantly associated with low HCVRNA levels and a genotype other than Ib. Finally, the absence of an 85% decline in HCVRNA levels after 3 days of treatment observed in 11 out of 45 patients (24%) wa s an absolute and very early predictor of the absence of EVR in the study p opulation. (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, inc.