Spontaneous Viral Clearance in Acute Hepatitis C in Egypt
Author Information
Author(s): Sharaf Eldin Noha, Ismail Soheir, Mansour Hala, Rekacewicz Claire, El-Houssinie Moustafa, El-Kafrawy Sherif, El Aidi Saeed, Abdel-Hamid Mohamed, Esmat Gamal, Pol Stanislas, Fontanet Arnaud, Mohamed Mostafa K.
Primary Institution: Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt
Hypothesis
What is the proportion of spontaneous viral clearance after symptomatic acute hepatitis C and the efficacy of pegylated interferon treatment?
Conclusion
Spontaneous viral clearance was high in this population with symptomatic acute hepatitis C, and treatment with pegylated interferon resulted in a high sustained virological response rate.
Supporting Evidence
- 2243 adult patients with acute hepatitis were enrolled in the study.
- The spontaneous viral clearance rate was 41.5% at six months.
- The sustained virological response rate was 88.2% among treated patients.
Takeaway
Many people with acute hepatitis C can get better on their own without treatment, but if they don't, a short treatment can help them get better quickly.
Methodology
Patients with symptomatic acute hepatitis C were recruited from two hospitals, and those still viremic after three months were treated with pegylated interferon for 12 weeks.
Potential Biases
Potential biases include selection bias due to the specific hospital settings and the socio-economic status of the patients.
Limitations
The study was limited by the small sample size of treated patients and the observational nature of the data.
Participant Demographics
The mean age of participants was 34.6 years, with 59% male and a majority from urban areas.
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.0011
Confidence Interval
95%CI [25.9%–43.2%] at 3 months, 95%CI [33.0%–51.2%] at 6 months
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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