Long term follow-up and patterns of response of ALT in patients with chronic hepatitis NANB/C treated with recombinant interferon-alpha Seguimento tardio e padrões de resposta da ALT em pacientes com hepatite crônica NANB/C tratados com interferon-alfa

• Published in: Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo
• Main Authors: L.C. da Silva, S.K. Ono, L.E.P. Fonseca, F.J. Carrilho, L.C.A. Mendes, A.V.C. França, C.L.A. Madruga, A.A. Laudanna
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade de São Paulo (USP) 1995
• Subjects: Chronic hepatitis; Hepatitis C; Antiviral Therapy; Interferon; Response; Relapse; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Infectious and parasitic diseases; RC109-216; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/S0036-46651995000300010; https://doaj.org/article/74f6862fe98146388932e933e3df91ae

The response to interferon treatment in chronic hepatitis NANB/C has usually been classified as complete, partial or absent, according to the behavior of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT). However, a more detailed observation of the enzymatic activity has shown that the patterns may be more complex. The aim of this study was to describe the long term follow-up and patterns of ALT response in patients with chronic hepatitis NANB/C treated with recombinant interferon-alpha. A follow-up of 6 months or more after interferon-a was achieved in 44 patients. We have classified the serum ALT responses into six patterns and the observed frequencies were as follows: I. Long term response = 9 (20.5%); II. Normalization followed by persistent relapse after IFN = 7 (15.9%); III. Normalization with transient relapse = 5 (11.9%); IV. Temporary normalization and relapse during IFN = 4 (9.1%); V. Partial response (more than 50% of ALT decrease) = 7 (15.9%); VI. No response = 12 (27.3%). In conclusion, ALT patterns vary widely during and after IFN treatment and can be classified in at least 6 types. A resposta ao tratamento com interferon em pacientes com hepatite crônica NANB/C tem sido classificada como completa, parcial ou ausente, de acordo com o comportamento da alanino aminotransferase sérica (ALT). Entretanto, uma observação mais detalhada da atividade enzimática tem mostrado que os padrões podem ser mais complexos. O objetivo deste estudo foi descrever o seguimento tardio e os padrões de resposta da ALT em pacientes com hepatite crônica NANB/C tratados com interferon alfa recombinante. Classificamos os tipos de resposta da ALT em 6 padrões e as freqüências observadas foram:I. Resposta completa e persistente = 9 (20,5%); II. Resposta completa com recaída persistente após o IFN = 7 (15,9%); III. Resposta completa com recaída temporária = 5 (11,9%); IV. Normalização temporária e recaída durante o tratamento com IFN = 4 (9,1%); V. Resposta parcial (queda dos níveis iniciais da ALT maior que 50%) = 7 (15,9%); VI. Não ...