Incidence of psychiatric side effects during pegylated interferon- α retreatment in nonresponder hepatitis C virus-infected patients

• Published in: Liver international 2007-10, Vol.27 (8), p.1098-1102
• Main Authors: Quarantini, Lucas C., Bressan, Rodrigo A., Galvão, Amanda, Batista-Neves, Susana, Paraná, Raymundo, Miranda-Scippa, Ângela
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Anti-Anxiety Agents - therapeutic use; Antidepressive Agents - therapeutic use; Antipsychotic Agents - therapeutic use; Antiviral Agents - adverse effects; comorbidity; Depressive Disorder, Major - chemically induced; Depressive Disorder, Major - drug therapy; Depressive Disorder, Major - epidemiology; Drug Therapy, Combination; Female; hepatitis C; Hepatitis C - drug therapy; Humans; Incidence; interferon; Interferon-alpha - adverse effects; Male; Middle Aged; Panic Disorder - chemically induced; Panic Disorder - drug therapy; Panic Disorder - epidemiology; Polyethylene Glycols - adverse effects; Prospective Studies; psychiatric side effects; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Psychotic Disorders - drug therapy; Psychotic Disorders - epidemiology; Psychotic Disorders - etiology; Recombinant Proteins; retreatment; Ribavirin - adverse effects; Risk Assessment; Risk Factors; Time Factors; Treatment Failure
• ISSN: 1478-3223; 1478-3231; 1399-1698
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1478-3231.2007.01532.x

Objective: Evaluate the incidence of mental disorders using pegylated interferon plus ribavirin retreatment in nonresponder hepatitis C virus‐infected patients. Method: The Mini‐International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) was used to evaluate 30 hepatitis C virus‐infected interferon‐nonresponder patients at baseline and following 4, 12 and 24 weeks of pegylated interferon retreatment. Results: During the pegylated interferon/ribavirin retreatment, 5(16.6%) patients developed psychiatric side effects: 3(10%) were diagnosed with major depressive disorder, 1(3.3%) had a brief psychotic disorder and 1(3.3%) presented with panic attacks. Conclusion: This is the first prospective study evaluating the incidence of neuropsychiatric side effects during interferon retreatment of hepatitis C virus‐infected patients, suggesting that the risk of acquiring serious psychiatric symptoms during retreatment with interferon‐α (IFN‐α) may not be higher than during the first antiviral therapy. This finding challenges the hypothesis that during a second treatment with IFN‐α, patients with hepatitis C may be at greater risk for neuropsychiatric side effects than naïve patients.