Linda Cook Author

Research Article Open Access

A Randomized Clinical Trial of Pegylated Interferon for Acute Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Active Injection Drug Users

Author(s):

Erica Coppel ,Meighan Krows ,Misty Saracino , Linda Cook ,Ka Wing Sullivan ,Jason Veitengruber3,Holly Hagan ,Hanne Thiede ,Anna Wald, Chia C Wang

Background: Treatment of acute HCV is more effective than treatment of chronic HCV, but physicians are often reluctant to treat people who inject drugs (PWID).

Methods: HIV seronegative PWID with acute hepatitis C infection were randomized to receive 24 weeks of pegylated interferon (Peg-IFN) or to observation. Serum HCV RNA was measured every 4 weeks. After 24 weeks, control subjects with persistent viremia were offered treatment with Peg-IFN and ribavirin. The primary endpoint of the trial was likelihood of achieving a sustained virologic response (SVR).Secondary endpoints included time to viral clearance, treatment adherence and incidence of depression.

Results: 24 patients were randomized to treatment vs. control; 1 w... view more»

DOI: 10.4172/2324-8955.1000132

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