Clin Mol Hepatol.  2016 Mar;22(1):168-171. 10.3350/cmh.2016.22.1.168.

Acute pancreatitis associated with pegylated interferon-alpha-2a therapy in chronic hepatitis C

• Choi JW
• Lee JS
• Paik WH
• Song TJ
• Kim JW
• Bae WK
• Kim KA
• Kim JG

• KMID: 2363035
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3350/cmh.2016.22.1.168

Abstract

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major cause of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Combination therapy of pegylated interferon-alpha (PEG-IFN-α) and ribavirin (RBV) is a current standard treatment for chronic HCV infection in Korea, which has considerable adverse effects. Acute pancreatitis is a rare complication of PEG-IFN-α administration. We report a case of a 62-year-old female who experienced acute pancreatitis after 4 weeks of PEG-IFN-α-2a and RBV combination therapy for chronic HCV infection. The main cause of the acute pancreatitis in this case was probably PEG-IFN-α rather than RBV for several reasons. A few cases have been reported in which acute pancreatitis occurred during treatment with PEG-IFN-α-2b. This is the first report of acute pancreatitis associated with PEG-IFN-α-2a in Korea.

Keyword

Pegylated interferon alpha-2a; Pancreatitis; Hepatitis C virus

MeSH Terms

Amylases/analysis
Antiviral Agents/adverse effects/*therapeutic use
Drug Therapy, Combination
Female
Hepatitis C, Chronic/diagnostic imaging/*drug therapy
Humans
Interferon-alpha/adverse effects/*therapeutic use
Lipase/analysis
Middle Aged
Pancreatitis/*etiology
Polyethylene Glycols/adverse effects/*therapeutic use
Recombinant Proteins/adverse effects/therapeutic use
Republic of Korea
Ribavirin/therapeutic use
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
Amylases
Antiviral Agents
Interferon-alpha
Lipase
Polyethylene Glycols
Recombinant Proteins
Ribavirin