Efficacy and safety of combination therapy of natural human interferon β and ribavirin in chronic hepatitis C patients with genotype 2 and high virus load

Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of combination therapy of natural human interferon-beta and ribavirin in patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 2 and high virus load. Methods Inclusion criteria were HCV-genotype 2, serum HCV RNA level of ≥ 100 KIU/mL before combination therapy. A total of 24 were enrolled in this retrospective cohort study. The treatment period of combination therapy was 24 weeks. Results Of the 24 study patients, no patient stopped the treatment due to treatment-related adverse events. The dose of drugs were reduced in 8 patients. Twenty-one of 24 patients (87.5%) had sustained virological response (SVR) by the intention to treat analysis. The rate of negative HCV RNA at 8 week after the initiation of treatment was 18/21 (86%) in patients with SVR and 1/3 (33%) in patients with non-SVR. Logistic regression analysis showed that SVR occurred when serum HCV RNA at 8 week after the initiation of combination therapy was negative (hazard ratio: 40.0; 95% confidence interval=1.75-914.78; p=0.021) Conclusion The combination therapy of IFN-beta and ribavirin offers sufficient safety and efficacy in chronic hepatitis C patients with genotype 2 and high virus load.