Table 1.
Laboratory findings at baseline, treatments and outcomes of highly intractable cases
| Parameters | Case 1 | Case 2 | ||
| Age (yr) | 55 | 55 | ||
| Sex | Male | Male | ||
| HCV genotype | 2b | 2b | ||
| Transmission | Tattoo or drug abuse | Unknown | ||
| IL28B SNPs (rs8099917:rs11881222:rs8103142) | T/T:A/A:T/T | T/T:A/A:T/T | ||
| ITPA SNPs | C/C | C/C | ||
| At the start of therapy | First therapy | Second therapy | First therapy | Second therapy |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 26 | 27.5 | 20.9 | 19.7 |
| HCV RNA (logIU/mL) | 6.5 | 3.7 | 7.2 | 7.5 |
| Liver biopsy | F1/A2 | Not performed | F1/A2 | Not performed |
| ALT (IU/L) | 36 | 26 | 32 | 40 |
| AST (IU/L) | 44 | 32 | 32 | 33 |
| WBC (cells/μL) | 4520 | 3880 | 3690 | 4020 |
| Neutrophil (cells/μL) | 2650 | 2420 | 1450 | 1950 |
| Hemoglobin (g/dL) | 15.7 | 14.6 | 11.9 | 12.9 |
| Platelets (cells/μL) | 16.4 | 15.7 | 14.5 | 15.3 |
| Peak ALT after the first therapy (IU/L) | 210 | 33 | ||
| Duration between the first therapy and the second therapy (wk) | 17 | 10 | ||
| Treatment and outcome | First therapy | Second therapy | First therapy | Second therapy |
| Peginterferon α dosage (μg) | 100 | 180 | 100 | 180 |
| RBV dosage (mg) | 800 | 800 | 800 | 800 |
| Week at disappearance of serum HCV RNA | 8 | 4 | 16 | 4 |
| Adherence to peginterferon α | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Adherence to RBV | 100% | 74% | 96% | 100% |
| Weeks of therapy | 48 | 72 | 48 | 72 |
| Response | Relapse | SVR | Relapse | Relapse |
HCV: Hepatitis C virus; IL28B: Interleukin-28B; SNPs: Single nucleotide polymorphisms; ITPA: Inosine triphosphatase; first therapy: 48-wk peginterferon α-2b/ribavirin; second therapy: 72-wk peginterferon α-2a/ribavirin; BMI: Body mass index; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; WBC: White blood cell; RBV: Ribavirin; SVR: Sustained virological response.