A randomized controlled clinical study of lower-dose peginterferon alfa-2b in combination with ribavirin in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C / 中华传染病杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To compare the effecacy and safety of lower dose peginterferon alfa-2b plus ribavirin versus standard interferon alfa-2b plus ribavirin for treatment of chronic hepatitis C in China.Methods 192 patients with chronic hepatitis C were assigned peginterferon alfa-2b 0.5?g/kg each week plus ribavirin 750～1050 mg/d or standard interferon alfa-2b 3 MIU TIW plus ribavirin 750～1050 mg/d for 48-week treatment and 24-week fellow-up.Results The sustained virological response (SVR)rate in lowe-dose peginterferon alfa-2b plus ribavirin group was 53.8%,and the SVR rate in standard interferon alfa-2b plus ribavirin was 58.1%.The SVR was similar between the two treat- ment group(P=0.966 for both comparisons).The adverse event rate was higher in peginterferon al- fa-2b plus ribavirin group than in standard interferon alfa-2b plus ribavirin group(P=0.033 for both comparisons),but there was no new or unique adverse event in related to pegylation of interferon alfa-2b. Conclusion The effecacy and safety was similar between lower-dose peginterferon alfa-2b plus ribavirin and standard interferon alfa-2b plus ribavirin for treatment of chronic hepatitis C.