Başkent Üniversitesi Makaleler
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/11727/13096
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Item Aggressive Use of Ribavirin and Prolonged Course of Peginterferon to Improve the Rate of Viral Response in Liver Transplant Patients with Recurrent Hepatitis C Viral Infection(Başkent Üniversitesi, 2010-09) Singhal, Aaditya; Black, Martin; Burke, Monika; Jain, Ashokkumar B.Objectives: There are different approaches for treating recurrent hepatitis C viral infection after a liver transplant. However, sustained virologic response is achieved in < 40% of infected allografts. We examined sustained virologic response improvement using a prolonged course of peginterferon and aggressive use of ribavirin. Patients and Methods: From October 1998 to May 2008, 24 patients (13 male, 11 female; mean age at transplant, 49.4 ± 7.7 years) received a prolonged course of peginterferon and ribavirin (range, 48-180 weeks). The mean interval from liver transplant to hepatitis C antiviral therapy was 26.6 ± 27.8 months. Patients began weight-based standard dosages of peginterferon and ribavirin. In case of hemolysis, patients were treated with Epogen, with and without blood transfusions. Results: Fourteen patients (58.3%) had an end of treatment response, and 8 patients (33.3%) maintained sustained virologic response after the first course of therapy. Of 10 patients who did not respond to the first course, 6 received an extended course of antiviral therapy after a mean of 15 ± 4.6 weeks from completion of first course. Five of these 6 patients achieved end of treatment response and maintained a sustained virologic response, resulting in an overall end of treatment response in 17 patients and a sustained virologic response in 13 patients. Twenty-two patients experienced hemolysis and were treated with Epogen. Fifteen patients received blood transfusions. Ribavirin dosage was reduced in 12 patients, and peginterferon dosage was reduced in 2 patients. Conclusions: Aggressive use of ribavirin and prolonged course of peginterferon provided sustained virologic response in 54.1% of liver transplant recipients with recurrent hepatitis C virus-infection. More prospective studies are warranted to evaluate the benefit of this approach fully.Item An International Survey of the Diagnosis, Management, and Treatment of Hepatitis C in Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease(Başkent Üniversitesi, 2009-12) Araya, Victor; Ortiz, Jorge; Olson, Mira R.; Grewal, Kevin S.; Bingaman, Adam; Zaki, Radi; Stewart, Shelby; Horton, JohnObjectives: Hepatitis C is one of the leading causes of death from liver disease in the United States, and is frequently associated with renal disease. Two major organizations—the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease and the National Kidney Foundation—have published recommendations regarding the treatment of hepatitis C in the presence of chronic kidney disease; however, these guidelines do not always provide the same recommendations. Given the paucity of data on adherence to the current guidelines, a survey was conducted to provide information about the current practices of physicians in comparison to the published guidelines. Materials and Methods: An observational study was conducted via a global survey asking physicians treating patients who had concurrent hepatitis C and chronic kidney disease. Results: The 218 questionnaires collected requested the physician’s subspecialty, the number of transplants performed at the hospital, the usual method of screening for hepatitis C, the preferred route, the indication and frequency of liver biopsy, the use of ribavirin and interferon, the use of hepatitis-C–positive donors in kidney transplant, and consent requirements. Conclusions: Our results showed that many physicians do not follow current recommendations. We argue that a consensus group be formed to set forth guidelines for the management of hepatitis C to optimize outcomes, and improve overall morbidity.Item A Monocentric Observational Study of Darbepoetin Alfa in Anemic Hepatitis-C-Virus Transplant Patients Treated With Ribavirin(Başkent Üniversitesi, 2008-12) Kamar, Nassim; Rostaing, Lionel; Esposito, Laure; Ribes, David; Guitard, JoëlleObjectives: Darbepoetin alfa is used to treat renal anemia; however, little information is available concerning its use during the posttransplant period, especially in HCV-positive patients treated with ribavirin for active hepatitis C. Materials and Methods: This study investigated the efficacy and safety of using darbepoetin alfa in this population during a 6-month treatment period. All anemic patients were HCV/RNA-positive, treated with ribavirin, and had impaired renal function. Patients (n=7) who had not been treated previously with recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) were placed in “group no rHuEPO.” Patients previously with recombinant human erythropoietin (n=16; “group rHuEPO”) were switched to darbepoetin alfa according to the European summary of product characteristics. Results: Seventy-three percent of the patients were men. The mean creatinine clearance at baseline was 58.7 ± 21.5 mL/min. All patients received an immunosuppressive treatment. Although mean hemoglobin levels remained stable in group no rHuEPO and increased in group rHuEPO, the difference was not statistically significant. Also, the median darbepoetin-alfa–weighted dose in group no rHuEPO increased while it remained stable in group rHuEPO, as did the median daily dosage of ribavirin; however, these differences were not statistically significant. Creatinine levels and creatinine clearance levels remained stable throughout the study. No significant medical events related to the treatment were reported during the study. Conclusions: Darbepoetin alfa was found to be efficient and well tolerated in correcting renal anemia in transplant recipients treated with ribavirin for active hepatitis C.