Pilot study of triple antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis C in interferon alpha non-responders

Background No effective therapy exists for interferon nonresponding chronic hepatitis C patients. Aims. Pilot study evaluating the potential efficacy and safety of triple antiviral therapy in interferon-alpha non-responders. Patients and Methods, Twenty , consecutive adult patients with chronic hepatitis C who had failed to respond to a 6-month course of interferon alpha were randomly assigned to receive a combination of interferon alpha + oral ribavirin (double therapy), or the same combination + oral amantadine (triple therapy), for 6 months. Results, By the end of therapy normal alanine transaminase (biochemical response) was obtained in 2 our of 10 patients on double therapy but in 7 out of 10 on triple therapy (p<0.05), and negative serum hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA (virological response) occurred in 1 out of 10 patients on double therapy but in 7 out of 10 patients on triple therapy (p<0.01). Six months after therapy, biochemical response was sustained in I (double therapy) and 4 patients (triple therapy), respectively, and the virological response was sustained in no patient on double therapy but in 3 patients on triple therapy Conclusions. Triple antiviral therapy seems to be able to induce biochemical and virological responses in interferon alpha non-responders with chronic hepatitis C.