الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major public health problem and a leading cause of chronic liver disease.HCV causes hepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).It accounts for about 15 percent of acute viral hepatitis, 60 to 70 percent of cirrhosis ,end stage liver disease, and liver cancer. Chronic hepatitis C varies greatly in its course and outcome. At one end of the spectrum are infected persons who have no signs or symptoms of liver disease and have completely normal levels of serum enzymes ,the usual blood test results that indicate liver disease. Liver biopsy usually shows some degree of injury to the liver ,but the extent is usually mild ,and the over all prognosis may be good. At the other end of the spectrum are patients with sever hepatitis C who have symptoms, high levels of the virus (HCV RNA) in serum, and elevated serum enzymes,and who ultimately develop cirrhosis and end stage liver disease. In the middle of the spectrum are many patients who have few or no symptoms,mild to moderate elevations in liver enzymes,and uncertien prognosis. Currently, the aim of treatment in hepatitis C infection is the eradication of HCV, which helps to delay the progression to terminal liver disease and to prevent the development of HCC. Two forms of peginterferon, peginterferon alfa-2a (40KD) and peginterferon alfa-2b (12KD) , are commercially available.The superiority of combination of pegylated interferons and ribavirin over standered combinations has been consistently demonstrated in several studies. combination 121 The optimal duration of treatment for patients with genotype 1 or 4 is 48 weeks. For patients with genotype 2 or 3, 24 weeks has been the standard The aim of this study is to determine if there is adifference in the relapse rates of HCV six months after end of therapy between pegylated interferon alpha 2a plus ribavirin and pegylated interferon alpha 2b plus ribavirin. In conclusion, this study shows that there is similar relapse rates of HCV six months after end of therapy between pegylated interferon alpha 2a plus ribavirin and pegylated interferon alpha 2b plus ribavirin, the baseline characteristics of the relapsed patients are old age at least 45 years , BMI of at least 30 kg/m2 and liver steatosis and these baseline characteristics associated with relapse did not differ in both treatment groups. |