Time for change: conventional interferon regimes should not be the standard of care for management of Pakistani genotype-3 in chronic Hepatitis C

The aim of the present study was to determine the efficacy and side effect profile of conventional interferon alpha-2b plus ribavirin for treating chronic hepatitis C genotype-3 infections in Pakistan. The study was conducted on treating 220 treatment-naAve individuals at KRL Hospital with conventional interferon given for 6 months. Both the response and side effects were analyzed using simple descriptive statistics. Out of total cohort, 84.92% [169 out of 199] achieved end of treatment response [ETR] while 63.31% [126 out of 199] achieved sustained virological response [SVR]. Leukopenia, gastrointestinal and miscellaneous systemic complaints were the most common adverse effects. In the context of a low ETR and SVR but a similar side effect profile as that of pegylated regimes, conventional therapy needs to be replaced with peg-interferon as the treatment of choice

Iatrogenic post biopsy hemobilia with pseudoaneurysm

Hemobilia is defined as bleeding into the biliary tree from an abnormal communication between a blood vessel and bile duct. It is an uncommon cause of upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage and iatrogenic most of the times. We report a case of hemobilia secondary to percutaneous liver biopsy presenting with classical Quincke's triad in a young lady which was treated with combined biliary balloon sweep thrombectomy and transarterial embolization for complete resolution of symptoms