1998 Volume 31 Issue 1 Pages 69-72
A 32-year-old man, complicated with chronic hepatitis C, had been on peritoneal dialysis since Feb. 1995. He was admitted to our hospital for treatment of chronic hepatitis C by interferon. After several treatments with hemodialysis, we carried out a liver biopsy and administered interferon alpha-2a. The primary dosage was 6MU per day for the first 14 days, followed by 2 doses per week for 6 months. After 35 administrations of interferon, we stopped the treatment because of side effects including renal dysfunction, involuntary movement and depression. The maximum serum concentration of interferon had risen due to accumulation from continuous administration. Though the pretreatment titer of serum HCV-RNA was 105 copies/50μl, it became negative after two months of administration of interferon, and remained negative for six months after discontinuance. It was concluded that interferon therapy was an effective treatment for this peritoneal dialysis patient with chronic hepatitis C, if the dosage is reduced to minimize side effects.
