Treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus infection with pegylated interferon and ribavirin in cirrhotic patients awaiting liver transplantation

Successful treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection can prevent reinfection after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). Pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) may ameliorate virological response (VR), making the risk-to-benefit ratio of therapy favorable in waiting list patients. From January 2001 to April 2006, we treated 15 HCV cirrhotics with PEG-IFN alpha-2b (1.5 microg/kg/week) and ribavirin (RIBA; >or=10.6 mg/kg/d). Their mean age was 51.5 years. There were 9 men. In 6 cases the genotype was 1b. With Child-Pugh scores >or=9 (range 9-12) and Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) scores >or=14 (range, 14-22). Adverse events occurred in all subjects: thrombocytopenia (<40,000/microL) in 8; neutropenia (<700/microL) in 10; anemia (Hb