Interstitial Pneumonitis in a Patient Treated with &agr;-Interferon and Ribavirin for Hepatitis C Infection
作者:
Anita,
Karim Shahid,
Ahmed Arfa,
Khan Harry,
Steinberg Joseph,
期刊:
The American Journal of the Medical Sciences
(OVID Available online 2001)
卷期:
Volume 322,
issue 4
页码: 233-235
ISSN:0002-9629
年代: 2001
出版商: OVID
关键词: Interferon-&agr;;Ribavirin;Interstitial pneumonitis;Hepatitis C infection
数据来源: OVID
摘要:
Hepatitis C is a common infection with worldwide prevalence. It has a variable course and can lead to chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Until recently &agr;-interferon (IFN-&agr;) was the only effective treatment available. Combination therapy with IFN-&agr; and ribavirin has been found to be more efficacious than IFN-&agr; alone. Various side effects have been ascribed to interferon, such as arthralgias, myalgias, fatigue, and gastrointestinal and neuropsychiatric symptoms. Interstitial pneumonitis is a rare but known complication of IFN-&agr; when given at a high dosage of 6 to 10 million units per day. Ribavirin is associated with dose-dependent hemolytic anemia, cough, dyspnea, rash, depression, and dyspepsia, although a potential role in interferon-induced interstitial pneumonitis has not been described. We describe a patient with an excellent clinical response of chronic hepatitis C to combination therapy with IFN-&agr; at a dosage of 3 million units per day and ribavirin. The patient developed interstitial pneumonitis that resolved after discontinuation of IFN-&agr; and ribavirin. Given that interstitial pneumonitis has previously been reported with high-dose IFN-&agr;, this case suggests that this complication may occur with lower dosages of IFN-&agr;, although a potential role for ribavirin in this disorder at present remains speculative.
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