| Theme |
Interferon Therapy for Viral Hepatitis : an Update Reference |
| Title |
Questions Concerning Initiation of Interferon Therapy for Acute Hepatitis C Patients |
| Author |
Eiji Tanaka |
Department of Medicine, Shinshu University School of Medicine |
| [ Summary ] |
The chronicity rates for acute hepatitis C are as high as 7O %. IFN (interferon) is well known to be effective for treating patients with acute hepatitis C. IFN has high SVR (sustained virologic response) rates.
A delay in starting IFN therapy (20 weeks from the onset of acute hepatitis or more) results in lower SVR rates. In patients with the HCV genotype 1 b, IFN therapy should be started as early as possible and should continue for 24 weeks to achieve high SVR rates. Combination therapy with Ribavirin is not essential for patients with acute hepatitis C. |