Peginterferon alpha-2b and ribavirin for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C in Japanese pediatric and young adult patients: a survey of the Japan Society of Pediatric Hepatology.
OBJECTIVES
Only a few studies on the treatment with peginterferon-2b and ribavirin are available in children with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV). The aim of this study was to evaluate both the efficacy and the safety of the treatment in Japanese children and young adults.


METHODS
Twenty-two of 41 members of the Japan Society of Pediatric Hepatology reported on 37 cases who were treated with peginterferon and ribavirin.


RESULTS
Of the 37 patients, 29 have completed the treatment and all of them cleared the HCV virus. Three patients are still being treated, whereas the remaining five failed to complete the treatment. Cessation of the treatment was because of the nonresponsiveness (n=3), the expense of the treatment (n = 1), or lethargy (n=1). After excluding the three patients, who were continuing the treatment and one who has not completed the 24-week follow-up period, from the 37 patients, 33 were available for sustained virologic response (SVR) analysis. After 4 weeks of follow-up, one of the 33 relapsed. An intention-to-treat analysis showed that 27 of the 33 (81.8%) achieved a SVR. The only factor significantly associated with SVR was their virologic response status at week 4.


CONCLUSION
The results showed that the present patients infected with HCV and treated with peginterferon-2b and ribavirin achieved a remarkably high SVR rate. In addition, most of the patients achieved a SVR once they showed a virologic response at week 4. The combination of peginterferon-alpha with ribavirin may be considered as a standard therapy for children and young adults.