[Biochemical and histologic changes in patients with chronic hepatitis C under treatment with interferon. a 5-year...

Since 1989, some schemes of treatment for Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) have been investigated, including alpha and beta interferon (IFN), ribavirin, and amantadine either alone or in combination. These studies have been performed in other countries. In our study, we investigated the outcome of Mexican patients with CHC treated with IFN. Twenty-six patients with five years follow-up treated with IFN in monotherapy were studied. We evaluated three kinds of response: sustained response (SR); non response (NR), and partial response (PR). Patients were evaluated biochemically and histologically by means of aminotransferase levels (pretreatment and serial) and hepatic biopsy (pretreatment and control). The data were obtained from clinical records. Aminotransferase levels at the end of treatment and six months later as well as histologic damage score showed the following results: 16 patients were cataloged as NR (61.5%), four as PR (15.3%), and six as SR (23.1%). Ten patients developed cirrhosis during follow-up, eight from NR group, one from PR group, and one from SR group. CHC patients treated with IFN alone obtained SR in 19% of cases; the patient who developed cirrhosis was not included. A study for longer time, prospective and protocolized to evaluate standardized IFN dose as well as evaluate combined treatment, is necessary.