Interferon-induced anosmia in a patient with chronic hepatitis C

We report a patient with chronic active hepatitis developing acute anosmia during interferon (IFN) therapy, On July 31, he began receiving 5 MU of IFN-alpha daily, On September 26, he failed to smell gas leaking from a gas cooker, so IFN therapy was discontinued, He showed no reaction on a standard olfactory acuity test, As the patient had borderline diabetes, the association of anosmia viith impaired glucose tolerance cannot completely he excluded, hut his anosmia was probably induced by IFN therapy, since anosmia developed 10 days after the initiation of the IFN therapy, without any deterioration of his glucose intolerance, (C) 1998 by Am. Coll. of Gastroenterology.