Hepatitis C treatment difficult in older patients

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Because of side effects,
patients over the age of 60 with hepatitis C find it more
difficult to stick with standard treatments than do their
younger counterparts, according to a study in Japan.

Impaired heart, lung and kidney function can make older
patients more susceptible to anemia induced by ribavirin, one
of the drugs used for treating hepatitis C, explain Dr.
Yoshiaki Iwasaki, from Okayama University Graduate School of
Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and
colleagues.

Iwasaki’s group analyzed outcomes among 208 patients with
chronic hepatitis C. The treatment involved injections of
interferon daily for 2 weeks then three times weekly for 22
weeks, and daily ribavirin.

The researchers report in the medical journal Hepatology
that only 92 (44 percent) continued without dose reductions
until the end of treatment.

Rates of discontinuation or dose reduction were 38 percent
in those younger than 50 years old, 48 percent in those between
50 and 59, and 77 percent in patients 60 or older.

Overall, the treatment was successful in eliminating the
hepatitis C virus in 37 percent of the patients, with age being
associated with a poorer response rate.

“Treatment schedule should be modified, or other
therapeutic modalities should be considered for older patients
with chronic hepatitis C,” Iwasaki’s group concludes.

SOURCE: Hepatology, January 2006.