Ribavirin therapy for hepatitis C infection following liver transplantation

✍ Scribed by E. J. Gane; C. J. Tibbs; J. K. Ramage; B. C. Portmann; R. Williams

• Book ID: 104742592
• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 1995
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 419 KB
• Volume: 8
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0934-0874
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00366714

✦ Synopsis

Hepatitis C infection following orthotopic liver transplantation may lead to progressive chronic graft dysfunction. In this study, seven liver transplant recipients with chronic allograft dysfunction due to hepatitis C infection (one acquired and six recurrent infections) were treated with oral ribavirin for 6 months. Symptoms of lethargy, nausea and anorexia improved in all patients within 2 weeks of starting the drug, with a fall in serum AST of at least 40 % by this time. Ribavirininduced haemolysis was clinically significant in three patients, necessitating a reduction in the daily dose of ribavirin from 1.2 g to 0.2 g. Comparison of the pre-and post-treatment biopsy specimens in the four patients who tolerated the full dose of ribavirin and who had normal AST levels at the end of 6 months of treatment showed significant histological improvement with reduction in either lobular or periportal inflammation in all of the patients and a reduction in periportal fibrosis in one patient. HCV RNA remained detectable in serum in all of the patients at the end of the study.