Abstract
This study sought to decribe, quantify, and classify any adverse reactions occurring in patients with chronic hepatitis C treated with peginterferon and ribavirin, as well as verify the occurrence of potential medication interactions. The most prevalent reactions were fatigue (84.8%), fever (83%), weight loss (80%), irritability (74%), and body pain (72%). Most of the reactions were classified as mild (95%), whereas 4.5% were classified as moderate and 0.4% as severe. Adverse reactions led to the rearrangement of therapy for 9 patients (20%), where there was a reduction in dose for 7 (15%), temporary interruption of treatment for 5 (11%), and permanent discontinuation for 3 patients (7%). A total of 11 potential medication interactions were identified in 9 patients (20%), with the most frequent between peginterferon-α2a and captopril (45%). Given the above, it is observed that the treatment of chronic hepatitis C is marked by several adverse reactions of varying severity, which can interfere with the patient’s quality of life or in treatment compliance, and that can be aggravated by potential drug–drug interactions.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.