Table 1.
Demographic and baseline characteristics of the patients in the three groups who received peginterferon alpha-2b (PEG-IFN-α-2b) plus ribavirin for 24, 36, or 48 weeks
| Parameter | Group A (24 weeks) (n = 95) | Group B (36 weeks) (n = 96) | Group C (48 weeks) (n = 96) |
| Sex (M/F) | 49/46 | 51/45 | 50/46 |
| Age (y) (mean (SD)) | 41.6 (8.1) | 43.9 (9.2) | 41.2 (7.6) |
| Mode of infection | |||
| Occupational exposure | 33 | 40 | 32 |
| Drug use | 22 | 19 | 21 |
| Blood transfusion | 8 | 14 | 11 |
| Sexual | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| Unknown | 29 | 22 | 27 |
| Body weight (kg) | |||
| <85 (n(%)) | 87 (92) | 89 (94) | 86 (90) |
| >85 (n(%)) | 8 (8) | 7 (6) | 10 (10) |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 25.7 (5.3) | 25.6 (4.1) | 26.5 (5.1) |
| Total bilirubin (mg/dl) (mean (SD)) | 1.9 (1.7) | 2.1 (0.95) | 2.8 (1.2) |
| Mean ALT (U/l) (mean (SD)) | 133.5 (8.9) | 129.5 (14.3) | 136.2 (13.5) |
| Mean AST (U/l) (mean (SD)) | 105.5 (17.3) | 114.3 (14.2) | 103.5 (14.8) |
| Mean RNA titre (106 copies/ml) (mean (SD)) | 2.8 (0.9) | 2.7 (1.1) | 2.8 (0.8) |
| Liver histology | |||
| Inflammation (grade) (mean (SD)) | 8.2 (2.8) | 7.6 (2.3) | 9.1 (1.6) |
| Fibrosis (stage) (mean (SD)) | 1.8 (0.8) | 2.3 (0.9) | 2.1 (1.2) |
Liver histology was evaluated according to Ishak and colleagues.21
BMI, body mass index; ALT, alanine transaminase; AST, aspartate transaminase.
*p values were calculated using the Mann-Whitney U test for all. Statistically significant difference were considered when p values were greater than 0.05.