Occurrence of Graves' disease during retreatment with interferon-alpha 2a for chronic hepatitis C.

The present report describes a patient who developed Graves' disease 3 months after inception of retreatment with higher doses of interferon-alpha 2a for chronic hepatitis C, although the initial 6-month treatment caused no serious adverse reactions. Severe hyperthyroidism continued despite discontinuation of interferon-alpha 2a, and the patient was subsequently treated with 131I. This case suggests careful evaluation of the safety of retreatment to prevent manifestation of such a complication in the retreatment of chronic hepatitis C with interferon.