Early treatment of acute hepatitis C with interferon alpha-2b or interferon alpha-2b plus ribavirin:: study of sixteen patients

Aim of the study -To assess the mode of transmission and the efficacy of antiviral therapy in the outcome of treated and untreated patients with acute hepatitis C. Patients and methods - From December 1995 to January 2001, 16 consecutive patients and their response to therapy were studied, including clinical, biochemical, virological and histological data. Results - Hepatitis C virus (HCV) exposure was IVDU (38%), needle-stick injury (19%.), medical procedure (6%), piercing (6%), suspected sexual contact (19%), and unknown in 2. Among 73 patients treated for acute hepatitis C, all 12 patients who completed therapy had a biochemical and virological sustained response for more than 15 months (range: 4-36 months) after stopping therapy. Therapy was tolerated in all but one patient, who stopped after 10 weeks because of side effects. Duration of treatment, type of interferon and combination with ribavirin did not modify the response to treatment. Conclusion - These results suggest that early intervention with interferon alpha is effective in preventing the progression of acute HCV infection to chronic hepatitis in most patients regardless of duration, type of interferon, or combination with ribavirin.