Analysis of safety and efficacy of pegylated-interferon alpha-2a in hepatitis C virus positive hemodialysis patients: results from a large, multicenter audit

In dialysis patients, PEG-IFN alfa -2a is poorly tolerated and associated with a high number of serious adverse events, causing a significant lack of compliance/discontinuation of therapy. In this largest HCV-positive hemodialysis population survey, we report a low sustained viral response in an ITT analysis, compared with previously published historical data using non-PEG-IFN, a low compliance rate and an unsatisfactory overall safety profile, not supporting the superiority of PEG-IFN monotherapy.