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©2013 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
Platelet count and sustained virological response in hepatitis C treatment
Tatsuo Kanda, Keizo Kato, Akihito Tsubota, Nobuo Takada, Takayoshi Nishino, Shigeru Mikami, Tatsuo Miyamura, Daisuke Maruoka, Shuang Wu, Shingo Nakamoto, Makoto Arai, Keiichi Fujiwara, Fumio Imazeki, Osamu Yokosuka
Tatsuo Kanda, Tatsuo Miyamura, Daisuke Maruoka, Shuang Wu, Shingo Nakamoto, Makoto Arai, Keiichi Fujiwara, Fumio Imazeki, Osamu Yokosuka, Department of Gastroenterology and Nephrology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba 260-8677, Japan
Keizo Kato, Department of Gastroenterology, Narita Red Cross Hospital, Narita 286-8523, Japan
Akihito Tsubota, Institute of Clinical Medicine and Research, Jikei University School of Medicine, Kashiwa 277-8567, Japan
Nobuo Takada, Department of Gastroenterology, Toho University Sakura Medical Center, Sakura 285-8741, Japan
Takayoshi Nishino, Department of Gastroenterology, Tokyo Women’s Medical University Yachiyo Medical Center, Yachiyo 276-8524, Japan
Shigeru Mikami, Department of Medicine, Kikkoman Hospital, Noda 270-0116, Japan
Author contributions: Kanda T, Kato K, Tsubota A, Takada N, Nishino T, Arai M, Fujiwara K, Imazeki F and Yokosuka O participated in the preparation work; Kanda T, Miyamura T, Maruoka D, Wu S and Nakamoto S performed analysis of the data; Kanda T, Kato K, Tsubota A, Takada N, Nishino T, Imazeki F and Yokosuka O designed the study; Kanda T and Yokosuka O drafted the manuscript; all the authors were involved in editing the manuscript.
Supported by A grant from the Chiba University Young Research-Oriented Faculty Member Development Program in Bioscience Areas, to Kanda T
Correspondence to: Dr. Tatsuo Kanda, Associate Professor, Department of Gastroenterology and Nephrology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, 1-8-1 Inohana, Chuo-ku, Chiba 260-8677, Japan. kandat-cib@umin.ac.jp
Telephone: +81-43-2262086 Fax: +81-43-2262088
Received: September 20, 2012
Revised: December 26, 2012
Accepted: January 29, 2013
Published online: April 27, 2013
AIM: To examine the epidemiological data, hematological safety and treatment responses of peginterferon-alpha 2a plus ribavirin therapy for hepatitis C.
METHODS: Between March 2008 and February 2011, 196 hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 infected Japanese (127 treatment-naive and 69 treatment-experienced patients) patients treated with peginterferon-alpha 2a plus ribavirin were enrolled. We examined the epidemiological data and treatment responses were retrospectively analyzed in terms of hematological safety. HCV RNA was measured by the COBAS TaqMan HCV test.
RESULTS: Overall sustained virological response (SVR) rates of treatment-naive and treatment-experienced patients were 56% and 39%, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that SVR was attained independently of early virological response in both treatment-naive and treatment-experienced patients. SVR rates did not differ between the pretreatment hemoglobin < 13 g/dL and ≥ 13 g/dL groups. However, in treatment-naive patients, the SVR rate of the pretreatment platelet count < 130000/µL group was significantly lower than that of the pretreatment platelet count ≥ 130000/µL group.
CONCLUSION: Attention should be paid to potential thrombocytopenia in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C patients.
