A Case of Pegylated Interferon Alpha-2a Monotherapy in a Peritoneal Dialysis Patient with Chronic Hepatitis C

Abstract

Pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) is now the standard treatment for chronic hepatitis C. But, there are few reports about patients with end stage renal disease, and treatment protocol for HCV infection has not been determined, particularly in patients on peritoneal dialysis. We experienced a case of a peritoneal dialysis patient with chronic hepatitis C who was successfully treated with PEG-IFN monotherapy. A 50-year old man was undergoing peritoneal dialysis because of diabetic nephropathy. Considering that his HCV genotype was 2, we decided to treat him with PEG-IFN alpha-2a monotherapy 4 month after the beginning of peritoneal dialysis. We adopted a 90 microg of PEG-IFN administration. After the injection of PEG-IFN, dialysate concentration of PEG-IFN did not change significantly. HCV-RNA disappeared at the 4th week and sustatined virus response was achieved thereafter. No side effects were observed during the treatment of 24 weeks. PEG-IFN monotherapy with dose modification may be a safe and effective treatment for HCV infection in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis.