Serum procalcitonin levels in chronic hepatitis C patients under pegylated interferon-alpha plus ribavirin treatment
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Elefsiniotis, I. S.
Petrocheilou, A.
Scarmeas, N.
Ketikoglou, I.
Pantazis, K. D.
Toutouza, M.
Tsianos, E. V.
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peer-reviewed
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J Clin Virol
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OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the alterations of serum procalcitonin (PCT) levels in patients with chronic hepatitis C during pegylated interferon-alpha (PEG-IFNa) plus ribavirin (RIB) treatment and to correlate them with clinical and virological outcomes. STUDY DESIGN: Fifty-two consecutive patients (29 males, age=41.2+/-14.7 years) with chronic HCV-related liver disease (six cirrhotics) were evaluated for PCT levels at baseline and during the treatment course (at week 12, 24, 48 and 72) with PEG-IFNa plus RIB. Sustained virological response (SVR) was confirmed by undetectable serum HCV-RNA at the end of treatment and again 6 months after completion of treatment. RESULTS: Two patients exhibited culture-proved bacterial infections during the treatment course. Thirty-six patients (69.2%) exhibit SVR and 16 (30.8%) were non-responders. Serum PCT levels remained within normal limits (0.1-0.5 ng/mL) in all treated patients throughout the follow-up period except those two who exhibited bacterial infections during the treatment course. Virological responders exhibited significant decline of serum PCT levels over time compared to non-responders (p<0.001), even when adjusted for multiple baseline parameters (p=0.037). CONCLUSION: Serum PCT levels decline in chronic hepatitis C patients during PEG-IFNa plus RIB treatment, especially in the sustained virological responder group, while they elevate only when bacterial infections complicate the treatment course.
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Adult, Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use, Calcitonin/*blood, Drug Therapy, Combination, Female, Hepatitis C, Chronic/drug therapy/*metabolism, Humans, Interferon-alpha/*pharmacology/therapeutic use, Male, Middle Aged, Polyethylene Glycols/*pharmacology/therapeutic use, Protein Precursors/*blood, Recombinant Proteins, Ribavirin/*pharmacology/therapeutic use
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16996792
http://ac.els-cdn.com/S138665320600309X/1-s2.0-S138665320600309X-main.pdf?_tid=dc7d584a5da888c1736411ebe3a7ef4e&acdnat=1333694946_3623b094efbd29a46999653767383feb
http://ac.els-cdn.com/S138665320600309X/1-s2.0-S138665320600309X-main.pdf?_tid=dc7d584a5da888c1736411ebe3a7ef4e&acdnat=1333694946_3623b094efbd29a46999653767383feb
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en
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Πανεπιστήμιο Ιωαννίνων. Σχολή Επιστημών Υγείας. Τμήμα Ιατρικής