[A report on therapy of interferon-A2b in patients with acute hepatitis C].

Sixteen patients with acute hepatitis C having a duration of illness more than three months without recovery were randomly assigned to treatment with interferon (IFN). 8 patients received 3 million units a day during the first week and 3 million units every other day for the following 11 weeks. Another 8 patients were given 3 million units every other day for 12 weeks. An additional 16 patients were chosen as controls. The effect of IFN therapy was 93.8% in the treated group and only 12.5% in the control group (P < 0.005). Among 11 patients who completed the course of therapy, only one had a recurrence in a follow-up of 18-86 weeks, while 13 of the 14 patients in the control group showed persistent liver damage. It is concluded that therapy with IFN can reduce the risk of chronic infection in patients with acute HCV infection.