Table 1.
Clinical characteristics of chronic hepatitis C patients treated with pegylated interferon alpha-2a plus ribavirin in the present study
|
Previous treatment |
P value1 | ||
| (-) | (+) | ||
| Number of patients | 127 | 69 | |
| Age (yr) | 56.1± 10.7 | 59.0 ± 10.1 | 0.064 |
| Gender (male/female) | 62/65 | 34/35 | NS |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 23.4 ± 3.2 | 23.3 ± 3.9 | NS |
| LDL cholesterol (mg/dL) | 107 ± 52.3 | 102 ± 31.5 | NS |
| ALT (IU/L) | 72.0 ± 53.7 | 66.4 ± 48.5 | NS |
| Gamma-glutamyl transferase (IU/L) | 55.6 ± 74.8 | 67.0 ± 77.2 | NS |
| Alpha-fetoprotein (ng/mL) | 12.7 ± 30.0 | 25.9 ± 79.5 | NS |
| HCV RNA (log IU/mL) | 6.5 ± 0.7 | 6.4 ± 0.7 | NS |
| White blood cells (/mL) | 5213 ± 1519 | 4619 ± 1273 | 0.006 |
| Neutrophils (/mL) | 2752 ± 924 | 2474 ± 981 | 0.058 |
| Hemoglobin (g/dL) | 14.0 ± 1.4 | 13.7 ± 1.6 | NS |
| Platelets (× 104/mL) | 16.5 ± 5.0 | 15.6 ± 5.2 | NS |
| RVR (+/-) | 18/109 | 7/62 | NS |
| EVR (+/-) | 66/61 | 24/45 | 0.021 |
Values are expressed as mean ± SD.
1
P value indicates those between two groups with and without pretreatment by Student’s t test or χ2 test. NS: Not significant; LDL: Low-density lipoprotein; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; HCV: Hepatitis C virus; RVR: Rapid virological response; EVR: Early virological response.