[A case of needlestick-induced acute type C hepatitis].

The patient was a 25-year-old male doctor, who had pricked his finger with a needle contaminated with blood from a 69-year-old male patient with liver cirrhosis (HCV-Ab positive, genotype II). He was informed from the blood bank that his blood was positive for anti-HCV and his GPT being 148 IU/l on the 65th day after exposure. He was admitted on February 16, 1993 and received a liver biopsy, which was consistent with acute viral hepatitis. His genotype was the same (type II) with the donor patient. IFN-alpha-2b of total doses of 656 Megaunits resolved the hepatitis completely and the HCV-RNA became negative as early as two weeks after starting IFN therapy. Liver biopsy after IFN therapy showed convalescence of acute hepatitis. The progression of acute hepatitis C to chronicity could be prevented by interferon therapy even in unfortunate cases of HCV transmission by needlestick. In conclusion, accidental needlestick should be followed for at least six months, and serum GPT and second-generation anti-HCV ELISA tests are recommended for all infected personnel.