Side Effects of Therapy for Chronic Hepatitis C: High Incidence of Dermal and Mucosal Adverse Events

Introduction: During chronic hepatitis C therapy, both pegylated interferon and ribavirin cause numerous side-effects. In this study, we ascertained the side-effects other than flu-like symptoms and hematologic abnormalities, including neuropsychiatric and dermatologic toxicities, development of autoimmune disorders, and focused on frequencies and management of mucosal-dermal side-effects. Patients and Methods: Out of 76 patients who had received peginterferon (peginterferon alpha-2a or alpha-2b) combined with ribavirin treatment for chronic hepatitis C in the period of 2008 January-2009 July, 71 were included in the study. Patients were questioned about side-effects in each follow-up visit during treatment. Side effects seen in patients receiving peginterferon alpha-2a (28, 39.4%) were also compared to those of patients receiving peginterferon alpha-2b (43, 60.6%). Results: Adverse effects of two different types of peginterferon were found to be similar. When we took all patients into consideration, psychiatric disorders were seen in 42.9% of patients, thyroid disorder in 11.4%, weight loss over 10% in 54%, nausea-vomiting in 47.9%, diarrhea in 31.4%, alopecia in 79.1%, dry mouth in 80%, oral lesion/burning feeling in mouth in 57.4%, pruritus in 74.3%, rash in 26.9%. Topical steroid treatment was given to 17 of 70 patients (24.3%) because of dermatitis. Conclusion: In conclusion, most of the patients receiving treatment for chronic hepatitis C showed dryness of skin and mucous membranes in various levels, and one fourth of the patients developed dermatitis. Importantly, these dermatologic lesions can be controlled with emollients and topical steroids

Real-World Data from Turkey: Is Sofosbuvir/Ledipasvir With or Without Ribavirin Treatment for Chronic Hepatitis C Really Effective?

Background: In this study, we aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of sofosbuvir-based therapies in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C in real-world clinical practice