Simeprevir with peginterferon and ribavirin induced interstitial pneumonitis: first case report

The effectiveness of hepatitis C treatment has improved with the development of interferon (IFN), and it has drastically improved with the development of peg-interferon-α (PEG-IFN) in combination with ribavirin (RBV) and, more recently, with the addition of a protease inhibitor. Simeprevir, which is a second-generation protease inhibitor, has shown clinically favorable safety and tolerability profiles. Simeprevir received its first global approval in Japan in September 2013 for the treatment of genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C in combination with PEG-IFN and RBV. One serious adverse event associated with IFN therapy is interstitial pneumonitis, which can be fatal. We experienced a patient with interstitial pneumonitis that was induced by simeprevir with PEG-IFN and RBV therapy for chronic hepatitis C in the early stages of therapy (8 wk after initiating therapy). This is the first case report of interstitial pneumonitis with simeprevir with PEG-IFN and RBV in the world. In addition, it is very interesting that the onset of interstitial pneumonitis was earlier than that in conventional PEG-IFN and RBV therapy. This finding suggests that simeprevir augments the adverse event. We present this case report in light of relevant literature on interstitial pneumonitis with conventional PEG-IFN and RBV therapy.