Relative Frequency of Early Virologic Response to Treatment With a Combination of Conventional Interferon and Ribavirin in Patients With Chronic Hepatitis C



Rostami M¹ ; Sabaghi B²
Source: Journal of Isfahan Medical School Published:2012

Abstract

Background: Chronic hepatitis C virus infection is the most common infectious disease among intravenous drug abusers. We tried to determine the effects of combination therapy using conventional interferon and ribavirin during 12 weeks. Methods: In this descriptive analytical study in 2011, 25 patients with chronic hepatitis C who referred to Infectious Diseases Research Center (Isfahan, Iran) were treated with conventional interferon plus ribavirin. After 12 weeks, early virologic response (EVR) was determined using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The collected data was analyzed in SPSS. Findings: The mean virologic load in PCR was 3549878 ± 6139188. After 12 weeks, the virologic load decreased more than 2log in 5 patients (20%) and less than 2log in 1 patient (4%). The reductions were undetectable in 19 patients (76%). Conclusion: Treatment with conventional interferon plus ribavirin was effective in this shortterm study.