High Response Rate to Pegylated Interferon Alpha and Ribavirin Combination Therapy in Hemophilic Children with Chronic Hepatitis C; A Case-Control Study

Scarce data is available on the efficacy of Pegylated Interferon (Peg-IFN) and Ribavirin (RBV) combination therapy in hemophilic children with chronic hepatitis C. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of Peg-IFN and RBV combination therapy for hemophilic children infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) in comparison with adult hemophilic patients with chronic hepatitis C. A case-control study comprised 31 pediatric hemophilic patients ages under 16 years with previously untreated HCV genotype-1 or -3 infection as the case group and 62 treatment naive adult hemophilic patients with chronic HCV infection as the control group. Case and control groups were matched case by case according to HCV genotype, HCV RNA level and rs12979860 polymorphism. All patients in the case and control groups were treated with Peg-IFN and RBV for 24-48 weeks according to HCV genotype. Sustained virological response (SVR) was achieved in 26 (83.9%) pediatric patients and in 39 (62.9%) of adult patients (P = 0.05, OR = 3.07, 95%CI = 1.03-9.09). The rate of SVR was not different according to HCV genotype, HCV RNA level, and rs12979860 polymorphism in both studied groups whereas achieving early virological response was associated with achievement of SVR in both groups. The efficacy of Peg-IFN and RBV combination therapy in hemophilic children with chronic hepatitis C is higher than that of adult hemophilic patients.