Skip Navigation


JAC Advance Access originally published online on April 10, 2009
Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy 2009 63(6):1256-1263; doi:10.1093/jac/dkp106
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
63/6/1256    most recent
dkp106v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Berenguer, J.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Berenguer, J.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Original research

Pegylated interferon {alpha}2a plus ribavirin versus pegylated interferon {alpha}2b plus ribavirin for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C in HIV-infected patients

J. Berenguer1,*,{dagger}, J. González-García2,{dagger}, J. López-Aldeguer3, M. A. Von-Wichmann4, C. Quereda5, A. Hernando6, J. Sanz7, C. Tural8, E. Ortega9, J. Mallolas10, I. Santos11, P. Miralles1, M. L. Montes2, J. M. Bellón1, H. Esteban12 and on behalf of the GESIDA HIV/HCV cohort{ddagger}

1 Hospital Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain 2 Hospital La Paz, Madrid, Spain 3 Hospital La Fé, Valencia, Spain 4 Hospital Donostia, San Sebastián, Spain 5 Hospital Ramón y Cajal, Madrid, Spain 6 Hospital 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain 7 Hospital Príncipe de Asturias, Alcalá de Henares, Spain 8 Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Spain 9 Hospital General Universitario, Valencia, Spain 10 Hospital Clinic, Barcelona, Spain 11 Hospital La Princesa, Madrid, Spain 12 Agencia de Ensayos Clínicos de Gesida, Madrid, Spain

Received 20 October 2008; returned 11 December 2008; revised 16 January 2009; accepted 27 February 2009

* Corresponding author. Unidad de Enfermedades Infecciosas/VIH (4100), Hospital Gregorio Marañón, Doctor Esquerdo 46, 28007 Madrid, Spain. Tel: +34-91-586-8592; Fax: +34-91-426-5177; E-mail: juaberber{at}terra.es

Objectives: The two currently available types of pegylated interferon (peg-IFN) used to treat hepatitis C have different pharmacokinetic properties. It is unclear how these differences affect response to therapy. We compared the effectiveness and safety of peg-IFN-{alpha}2a and peg-IFN-{alpha}2b, both with ribavirin, against chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in HIV-infected patients.

Methods: From the GESIDA HIV/HCV cohort, we analysed patients treated with peg-IFN-{alpha}2a (n = 315) or peg-IFN-{alpha}2b (n = 242). The primary endpoint was a sustained virological response (SVR).

Results: Both groups were well matched in baseline characteristics except for a higher frequency of injection drug users in the peg-IFN-{alpha}2b group than in the peg-IFN-{alpha}2a group (85% versus 76%; P = 0.01) and a higher frequency of bridging fibrosis and cirrhosis (F3–F4) in the peg-IFN-{alpha}2b group than in the peg-IFN-{alpha}2a group (42% versus 33%; P = 0.04). End-of-treatment response was significantly lower among patients treated with peg-IFN-{alpha}2b [40% versus 52%; odds ratio (OR), 1.63; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 1.16–2.29; P < 0.01]. However, no significant differences were found in SVR between patients treated with peg-IFN-{alpha}2b and those treated with peg-IFN-{alpha}2a (31% versus 33%; OR, 1.09; 95% CI, 0.75–1.59; P = 0.655). Therapy was interrupted due to adverse events in 33 (14%) patients treated with peg-IFN-{alpha}2b and 47 (15%) patients treated with peg-IFN-{alpha}2a.

Conclusions: No differences in effectiveness and safety were found between peg-IFN-{alpha}2b and peg-IFN-{alpha}2a for the treatment of chronic HCV infection in HIV-infected patients.

Keywords: comparative study , IFN , HCV , effectiveness , safety , infections

{dagger} J. B. and J. G.-G. contributed equally to this study.

{ddagger} Members of the GESIDA HIV/HCV cohort are listed in the Acknowledgements section.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.