0000000000270434
AUTHOR
G. Teuber
Predicting Early and Sustained Virological Responses in Prior Nonresponders to Pegylated Interferon alpha-2b Plus Ribavirin Retreated With Peginterferon alpha-2a Plus Ribavirin and the Benefit-Risk Ratio of Retreatment
GOALS: To evaluate the predictive value of complete early virological response (cEVR) on sustained virological response (SVR) following retreatment with peginterferon alpha-2a (40 kDa) plus ribavirin in previous nonresponders to peginterferon alpha-2b (12 kDa). BACKGROUND: In the randomized multinational retreatment with Pegasys in patients not responding to PegIntron therapy study, a 72-week regimen of peginterferon alpha-2a (40 kDa) plus ribavirin improved SVR rates over a standard 48-week regimen in previous nonresponders to peginterferon alpha-2b (12 kDa). cEVR, defined as hepatitis C virus RNA <50 IU/mL at treatment week 12, was an important predictor of SVR. STUDY: We conducted an exp…
Re-treatment of Patients With Chronic Hepatitis C Who Do Not Respond to Peginterferon-[alpha]2b: A Randomized Trial
BACKGROUND Many patients with chronic hepatitis C have not responded to therapy with pegylated interferon plus ribavirin. OBJECTIVE To evaluate use of peginterferon-alpha2a plus ribavirin to re-treat nonresponders to peginterferon-alpha2b plus ribavirin. DESIGN Randomized, parallel-group trial conducted between September 2003 and February 2007. Patients and researchers were not blinded to intervention assignment. Random assignment was centralized, computer-generated, and stratified by geographic region, hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype, and histologic diagnosis. SETTING 106 international centers. PATIENTS 950 nonresponders to 12 or more weeks of therapy with peginterferon-alpha2b plus ribav…
Indomethacin treatment in amphotericin B induced nephrogenic diabetes insipidus.
Nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (NDI) is a serious side effect of various drugs. Elevated renal prostaglandin E2 levels have been found in patients with lithium-induced NDI and have been implicated in the pathogenesis. We report the case of a patient who developed NDI following treatment with amphotericin B. Prostaglandin levels were elevated. Indomethacin had an antidiuretic effect and normalized prostaglandin levels.
Long-Term Follow-Up of Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C after Interferon-Alpha Treatment
In this study, 72 patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) were followed prospectively for a mean period of 27 months after interferon treatment. Fifty-seven percent (20/35) of the patients with complete response, 18/20 with HCV-RNA-negative serum, had a sustained biochemical remission. Reactivation was seen in 43% of these patients after a mean follow-up of 7.3 months. A late relapse after more than 12 months of follow-up occurred in only 2/15 patients. Patients with a long-term complete response had significantly lower pretreatment serum HCV RNA levels than complete responders with relapse (106,239 vs. 345,649 mEq/ml, p = 0.0213). A delayed sustained biochemical remission was seen in…