A multicenter randomized controlled trial of recombinant interferon-α2b in patients with acute transfusion-associated hepatitis C

To assess whether interferon-α might prevent non-A, non-B hepatitis from becoming chronic, 45 consecutive patients with transfusion-associated hepatitis were enrolled in a randomized clinical trial. Thirty-eight patients had hepatitis C virus infection, and 7 had non-A, non-B, non-C hepatitis. Twenty-six patients (22 with HCV) were given 3 MU of recombinant interferon-α2b three times a week for 12 wk, whereas 19 (16 with HCV) were not. Biochemical and virological parameters were monitored at regular intervals during an 18-mo follow-up. At the end of the 3-mo therapy, 16 (73) patients with hepatitis C had normal serum ALT activity, compared with 7 (44) who were not treated (NS). Fifty-three …