Response of mono- therapy with interferon in hepatitis C patients and its comparison with combination therapy in the non-responders

ABSTRACT

The study was conducted to observe the response of mono-therapy with Interferon g in Hepatitis C patients. A second objective was to determine the efficacy of the combination therapy with INF u and Ribavarin in the non-responders. Thirty patients having Hepatitis C [HCV] infection were included in the study during the year 1998 and 1999. All the patients were initially started on INF u alone for 24 weeks and then those who did not respond to this mono-therapy, were treated upon with combination therapy. Finally the two groups were analyzed to prove efficacy of the treatment modalities. After 24 weeks of mono-therapy with INF u, three out of 30 patients[10%] could be normalized biochemically while the rest 27 were shifted onto combination therapy with INF u and Ribovarin. Seventeen patients [56.7%] showed normal ALT after 24 weeks of combination therapy. Whereas 9 patients [30.33%] were identified as non-responders and placed on Induction therapy, out of which only 2 patients had sustained virological and biochemical response after 48 weeks of therapy. The combination of INF a and Ribovarin for hepatitis C shows a 5 times more sustained biological [SBR] and virological response [SVR] as compared to monotherapy. This combination should be further evaluated for patients in the developing countries where cost effectiveness is of dire importance