Editorial
Copyright ©2012 Baishideng Publishing Group Co.
World J Gastroenterol. Jan 14, 2012; 18(2): 99-104
Published online Jan 14, 2012. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v18.i2.99
Table 2 Most frequent adverse events during polyethylene glycol-interferon treatment in combination with ribavirin and its appraisal of clinical significance
Interferon α-treatment:
Leukopenia, thrombocytopenia: Frequent, not really significant; if necessary dose reduction
Flu-like symptoms: In all treated patients, not significant
Alopecia: Not significant
Autoimmune thyroiditis: At least 15 %, significant, mostly reversible
Acute psychosis, depression: Very seldom before puberty (< 1 %), rare in adolescents, significant in cases with manifestation; should be under investigation in future trials
Growth delay: Clinically not significant, catch-up growth, but under investigation with relative high priority
Anorexia, weight loss: Mostly not significant with exceptions, normalisation after therapy stop
Ribavirin:
Anemia: Mostly clinically not significant with exceptions, reversible