Efficacy and safety of ademetionine for treatment of drug-induced liver disease in children / 中华实验和临床病毒学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the efficacy and safety of ademetionine for treatment of cholestatic or mixed-type drug-induced liver disease (DILD) in children.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The children with DILD were divided into the treated group and control group. Yinzhihuang Granule was orally administered and Compound Glycyrrhizin Injection intravenously given in patients of both groups. Those patients in the treated group were additionally treated with intravenous infusion of 250-1000 mg ademetionine for 28 d. The incidence of pruritus and adverse effects as well as biochemical parameters in all the patients and compared between the 2 groups. For statistical analysis, Chi2 test was used for between-group comparison and t test for processing the data.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>1) Before treatment, severe pruritus was found in 17 and 16 children in the treated and control group, respectively. Two weeks after the treatment, the symptom was significantly relieved in 14 and 3 patients in the treated and control group, respectively (Chi2 = 4.52, P < 0.05). 2) As for comparisons between the 2 groups, a P value of 0.0014 for AST level was found 4 weeks, 0.045 and 0.007 for disappearance and recovery rate of jaundice, 0.0014 and 0.0006 for decrease in TBA level and 0.0003 for gammaGT level 2 and 4 weeks after the treatment.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Intravenous administration of ademetionine is safe in children with DILD and it can effectively alleviate pruritus, promote the recovery of various biochemical parameters and fasten liver functional recovery in these children. Therefore, ademetionine can be widely used for treatment of intrahepatic cholestasis in children.</p>

An open-label pilot study evaluating the efficacy and safety of peginterferon alfa-2a combined with ribavirin in children with chronic hepatitis C / 中华实验和临床病毒学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the efficacy and safety of peginterferon alfa-2a plus ribavirin in the treatment of children with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) in China.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Totally 54 children with CHC were treated with peginterferon alfa-2a plus ribavirin from July 2003 to July 2004. The dose of peginterferon alfa-2a was 104 microg.(m2)-1 per week. An inductive treatment with interferon 1-3 MIU q.o.d for a week was given before peginterferon for the reduction of possible side effects. Initially 1/3 to 1/2 dose of ribavirin was given and then the was gradually increased to an ideal level of 15-20 mg.kg(-1).d(-1).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The mean age of the patients was 11.3 years. Twenty three patients (42.6%) had received interferon plus ribavirin but the disease relapsed or did not respond to the treatment. The HCV of 70.8 percent of patients was genotype 1 and 14.8 percent of patients had a high viral load (>/=10(-6)/L). After 3-month treatment, 87.5% (42/48) and 8.3% (4/48) of the patients became HCV RNA negative or the viral load reduced by >/= 2 log, respectively, and only 8.3% (4/48) of the patients failed to respond. After 6-month treatment, 87.9% (29/33) and 6.1% (2/33) of the patients became HCV RNA negative or had a >/= 2 log reduction of HCV RNA, respectively, and only 6.1% (2/33) failed to respond. The adverse events were the typical of those reported in the treatment with interferon and ribavirin. Pyrexia occurred in 48.1% of patients, fatigue in 46.3%, decreased appetite in 9.3%, and skin rash in 3.7%. The absolute neutrophil counts of 51 patients (94.4%) were reduced to </= 2.0 x 10(-9)/L, and in 35.2% of them to < 1.0 x 10(-9)/L. Hemoglobin were reduced in only 2 patients (in one case to < 100 g/L, and in the other to < 110 g/L).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The regimen consisted of peginterferon alfa-2a and ribavirin achieved a high virologic response in Chinese children patients with chronic hepatitis C. No severe adverse events occurred and most of the patients well tolerated the treatment.</p>

Study on treatment effectiveness and safety in children with chronic hepatitis B or C using bicyclo tablets / 中华实验和临床病毒学杂志

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>To evaluate treatment effectiveness and safety of bicyclo tablets in children with chronic hepatitis B or C.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A randomized controlled trial was conducted in 148 children with chronic hepatitis B or C for evaluating safety, tolerability, and efficacy of treatment with bicyclo tablets or Hugan tablets. Children in therapy group were treated with bicyclo tablets and control group treated with Hugan tablets.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>(1) ALT and AST level decreased more prominently in therapy group than in control group (P<0.01). (2) Bicyclo was more effective than Hugan tablets (P<0.01). (3) Symptoms were ameliorated more prominently in bicyclo group than in control group (P<0.01). (4) Both groups had no significant adverse events.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Satisfactory therapeutic effect and safety were obtained with bicyclo tablets in children with chronic hepatitis B or C.</p>