J Korean Soc Transplant.  1997 Nov;11(2):301-308.

Effect of Interferon Alpha on Chronic Hepatitis C in Patients with Chronic Renal Failure and Renal Allograft Recipients

• Kim YO
• Park JH
• Yang CW
• Kim YS
• Park YM
• Chang YS
• Koh YB
• Bang BK

Abstract

Chronic hepatitis C is common complication in patients with end stage renal failure and relative contraindication to renal transplantation due to risk of progression. Although interferon alpha (IFN) treatment is proven to be effective in chronic hepatitis C with normal renal function, its effect on the treatment of chronic hepatitis C in dialysis patients and renal allograft recipients is not clear. We studied this study to evaluate the effect of IFN on chronic hepatitis C in patients with chronic renal failure and renal allograft recipients. Four dialysis patients and 2 renal allograft recipients were included in this study. The patients received IFN 3 million units three times a week for 6 months. All patients with showed normal levels of liver enzymes and seronegative conversion of HCV RNA. But seropositive conversion of HCV RNA was observed 1 dialysis patient after stopping of IFN treatment due to gross hematuria and epistaxis. Two dialysis patients had successful renal transplantation, and liver enzyme levels were normal and HCV RNA was negative after 2 months. In conclusion, IFN treatment is not only effective on the treatment of chronic hepatitis C in dialysis patients and renal allograft recipients but also may offer the potential of making transplantation a feasible option for chronic hepatitis C patients with end stage renal failure.

Keyword

End stage renal failure; Dialysis; Renal transplantation; Chronic hepatitis C; Interferon alpha

MeSH Terms

Allografts*
Dialysis
Epistaxis
Hematuria
Hepatitis C, Chronic*
Hepatitis, Chronic*
Humans
Interferon-alpha*
Interferons*
Kidney Failure, Chronic*
Kidney Transplantation
Liver
Renal Insufficiency
RNA
Interferon-alpha
Interferons
RNA