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Published on: February 3, 2012
[Autoimmune hemolytic anemia presenting during treatment of chronic hepatitis C with interferon alpha]
Rita Rizzi1, Francesco P Lucarella, Giovanni B Ruggieri
1Sezione di Ematologia, Dipartimento di Medicina Interna e Medicina Pubblica, Università degli Studi di Bari.
Autoimmune hemolytic anemia has been rarely described in patients with chronic hepatitis C during interferon-alpha therapy. We report a case of Coombs-positive autoimmune hemolytic anemia, occurring 9 months after the onset of monotherapy with interferon-alpha-2b (3 million units thrice in week) for chronic hepatitis C. Interferon withdrawal and prednisone treatment induced a complete remission of hematological findings after 3 months. During a follow-up period of 30 months after cessation of interferon, hemoglobin levels stabilized about 16 g/dL, and the indirect Coombs test turned negative, while the direct Coombs test remained weakly positive; besides, serum alanine aminotransferase values were normal and hepatitis C virus-RNA remained undetectable. In our patient, clinical and laboratory findings suggested a correlation between autoimmune side effects of interferon-alpha and autoimmune hemolytic anemia.
Autoimmune hemolytic anemia has been rarely described in patients with chronic hepatitis C during interferon-alpha therapy. We report a case of Coombs-positive autoimmune hemolytic anemia, occurring 9 months after the onset of monotherapy with interferon-alpha-2b (3 million units thrice in week) for chronic hepatitis C. Interferon withdrawal and prednisone treatment induced a complete remission of hematological findings after 3 months. During a follow-up period of 30 months after cessation of interferon, hemoglobin levels stabilized about 16 g/dL, and the indirect Coombs test turned negative, while the direct Coombs test remained weakly positive; besides, serum alanine aminotransferase values were normal and hepatitis C virus-RNA remained undetectable. In our patient, clinical and laboratory findings suggested a correlation between autoimmune side effects of interferon-alpha and autoimmune hemolytic anemia.
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