PMID: 18423150Apr 22, 2008Paper

Responses of peginterferon-alpha 2a antiviral therapy in chronic hepatitis B patients

Zhonghua gan zang bing za zhi = Zhonghua ganzangbing zazhi = Chinese journal of hepatology
Rui-xing ZhongHui Long

Abstract

To study the responses of peginterferon-alpha 2a antiviral therapy in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. One hundred two CHB patients with their serum ALT values higher than 2x the upper limit of the normal (ULN) were divided into a HBeAg-positive and a HBeAg-negative group. All patients were treated with peginterferon-alpha 2a by subcutaneous injection (180 microgram once weekly). After treatment for 6 months, patients without a defined therapeutic response were dropped from the treatment group; the others completed a 12 month therapy. The sustained response and the antiviral effect of the treatment were assessed at the end of the therapy. To investigate the possible impact factors of the response to peginterferon-alpha 2a, we studied the therapeutic response of patients with different serum ALT levels, inflammation grades of liver histology, stages of fibrosis, and HBV viral load levels. (1) There was no statistical difference of the rates of response at the end of treatment and 6, 12, 18, 24 and 30 months after the cessation of therapy between the HBeAg-positive and the HBeAg-negative groups. (2) In the HBeAg-positive group, the rates of response of patients with serum ALT values>3*ULN were significantly higher than those w...Continue Reading

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