THE EFFECTIVE RESPONSE OF COMBINED INTERFERON AND RIBAVIRIN THERAPY IN BOTH HEPATITIS C INFECTED PATIENTS AND PATIENTS WITH HEPATITIS C INFECTION ASSOCIATED WITH SCHISTOSOMIASIS.
Hassan H. Hamadto, Azza M.S. El-Hamshary, Ibrahim M. Nagaty, Khaled A. Ghaith, Ayman M. El-Badawy* and Asmaa A. El-Kholy.
Departments of Parasitology and Internal Medicine*, Faculty of Medicine, Banha University, Egypt.
90 chronically infected patients were divided into two groups: G1 included 45 cases with HCV infection alone and G2 included 45 cases with combined HCV and schistosomiasis. Both groups were subjected to treatment by combined interferon and ribavirin therapy and followed for one year to detect the response to treatment. Patients with concomitant schistosomiasis and HCV infection gave poor response to combined interferon and ribavirin therapy (35%) compared to patients infected with HCV alone (62.5%). Patients with combined schistosomiasis and HCV infection had more advanced liver disease, and poor response to combined interferon therapy than patients infected with HCV alone.
June 2013