Adherence to therapy and sustained virological response in patients with chronic hepatitis C treated with standard interferon (IFN) plus ribavirin (RBV)

Introduction: Just prior to the era of pegylated IFNs, long-term treatment with a combination of standard IFN-alfa2 plus RBV was regarded as the best antiviral treatment for chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Adherence to this lengthy and troublesome therapy is a major challenge for both the pts and their doctors. Aim: To survey our experience with this treatment modality. Patients and methods: Since 1997, 88 CHC pts were treated over 48 weeks with 3–6 MU IFN-α2 three times a week, combined with 1.0–1.2g RBV daily. Fifty-seven (65%) had not participated in previous IFN treatment, 17 (19%) were non-responders to IFN and…