Korean J Hepatol.  2010 Jun;16(2):187-191. 10.3350/kjhep.2010.16.2.187.

Occurrence of diabetic ketoacidosis and autoimmune thyroiditis in a patient treated with pegylated interferon-alpha 2b and ribavirin for chronic hepatitis C

• Lee YN
• Jeong SW
• Lim JH
• Ryu YS
• Jeon SR
• Kim SK
• Jang JY
• Kim YS
• Kim BS
• Roh MO

• KMID: 1792598
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3350/kjhep.2010.16.2.187

Abstract

Combined pegylated interferon and ribavirin therapy for chronic hepatitis C infection cause a wide range of side effects, including flu-like syndrome, hematological abnormalities, cardiovascular symptoms, gastrointestinal symptoms, pulmonary dysfunction, depression, and retinopathy. Interferon-alpha has been shown to be related to the development of various autoimmune diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune thyroid disease, and type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM). Type 1 DM and thyroid disease respectively develop in 0.08~2.61% and 10~15% of patients treated with combined interferon-alpha and ribavirin for chronic hepatitis C. The coexistence of type 1 DM and autoimmune thyroiditis was rarely reported. We report a case of a 33-year-old female patient with chronic hepatitis C who simultaneously developed diabetic ketoacidosis and autoimmune thyroiditis after treatment with pegylated interferon-alpha 2b and ribavirin.

Keyword

Hepatitis C, chronic; Interferon Alfa-2b; Diabetes Mellitus, type 1; Thyroiditis, autoimmune

MeSH Terms

Adult
Antiviral Agents/*adverse effects/therapeutic use
Diabetic Ketoacidosis/drug therapy/*etiology
Drug Therapy, Combination
Female
Hepatitis C, Chronic/*drug therapy
Humans
Insulin/therapeutic use
Interferon Alfa-2b/*adverse effects/therapeutic use
Polyethylene Glycols/*adverse effects/therapeutic use
Ribavirin/*adverse effects/therapeutic use
Thyroiditis, Autoimmune/drug therapy/*etiology
Thyroxine/therapeutic use