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Hypothyroidism In Hepatitis C Patients On Pegylated Interferon Therapy
Muhammad Asim Hameed1, Asif Mehmood1, Muhammad Ahsan Farooq1
1Department of Medicine, PGMI/Lahore General Hospital/ Ameer-ud-Din Medical College, Lahore, Pakistan.
Insights
Hepatitis C patients treated with pegylated interferon therapy developed hypothyroidism in 14.5% of cases after three months. Female patients were more susceptible to this thyroid dysfunction compared to males.
Area of Science:
- Hepatology
- Endocrinology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Chronic hepatitis, particularly hepatitis C, is a significant global health issue, especially in developing nations.
- Hepatitis C can progress to severe liver conditions like cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.
- Pegylated Interferon Alpha is a primary treatment for chronic hepatitis C in Pakistan, but it carries risks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the incidence of hypothyroidism in patients with chronic hepatitis C.
- To assess the frequency of thyroid dysfunction following three months of pegylated interferon therapy.
Main Methods:
- A descriptive case series study was conducted with 200 hepatitis C patients.
- Serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels were measured before and after three months of therapy.
- Hypothyroidism was defined as a TSH level greater than 4.0 mIU/L.
Main Results:
- After three months of therapy, 18.5% of patients experienced thyroid dysfunction, with 14.5% diagnosed with hypothyroidism.
- Out of 29 hypothyroid patients, 21 (72.4%) were female and 8 (27.6%) were male.
- The mean age of the study participants was 36.29 years, with 61.5% being male.
Conclusions:
- The study concluded that 14.5% of chronic hepatitis C patients developed hypothyroidism after three months of pegylated interferon treatment.
- Female patients demonstrated a higher propensity for developing hypothyroidism compared to male patients during this therapy.
Background:
Chronic hepatitis has become a major health problem all over the world especially in the third world countries. The most common cause of chronic hepatitis in Pakistan is hepatitis C which can lead Toliver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. In Pakistan Pegylated Interferon Alpha is still corner stone of therapy for chronic hepatitis C. One of the major side effects of this therapy is the development of thyroid dysfunction, i.e., hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism. This study was done to assess the frequency of hypothyroidism in hepatitis C patients after three months of pegylated interferon therapy.
Methods:
This study was conducted from 1st October 2013 to 31st march 2014 at outpatients department (OPD) of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Lahore General Hospital Lahore. Descriptive case series study design was used. The sample of 200 patients was taken from the patients who visited OPD and fulfil the inclusion criteria of the study. Serum thyroid stimulating hormone level (TSH) was done before and after completion of three months therapy at centre for Nuclear Medicine (CENUM) laboratory, Mayo Hospital, Lahore by immune-radiometric assay (IRMA) and patients having TSH>4.0 mIU/L (normal range: 0.2-4.0 mIU/L) were considered hypothyroid.
Results:
The mean age of the patients was 36.29±8.5 years. One hundred and twenty-three (61.5%) were male and 77 (38.5%) were female. After 3 months of interferon therapy, 163 (81.5%) patients were euthyroid and 37(18.5%) patients were having thyroid dysfunction. There were total 29 (14.5%) hypothyroid patients; 8 (27.6%) were male and 21 (72.4%) female.
Conclusions:
It is concluded from this study that frequency of hypothyroidism in patients with chronic hepatitis C was 14.5% after treatment with pegylated interferon therapy for 3 months. Female patients were more prone to develop hypothyroidism as compared to male patients.
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