2001 DEC 18 - (NewsRx.com) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer
Due to its side effects, interferon is not the most well-tolerated
drug in the world. However, underlying psychological problems can
complicate treatment compliance even more in patients with chronic
hepatitis C, doctors in Germany at the University of Wurzburg say.
Given the expense of interferon therapy and its mode of action,
"Compliance with diagnostic procedures and, even more important, with
medical treatment is obviously critical to minimize the rate of
dropouts and to maximize cost efficiency," M.R. Kraus, lead
investigator of a recent study, said of patients offered interferon
therapy for chronic hepatitis C.
Patient follow-up is particularly important in order to catch the
early signs of adverse effects, Kraus and coworkers also pointed out.
In order to determine factors that might predict nonconformance to
chronic hepatitis C treatment regimens, Kraus's group prospectively
studied psychological manifestations and social and demographic
factors in 74 patients assigned to receive interferon monotherapy or
interferon/ribavirin combination therapy. Researchers also included
the probable means by which patients had become infected in their
analysis.
"Sociodemographic factors and mode of acquisition, particularly former
intravenous drug (IVD) abuse were not significantly linked with
compliance," Kraus and team reported.
Statistical analysis did, however, show a correlation between
psychiatric problems, interpersonal problems, and noncompliance with
drug regimens.
"Predictive value was best and significant for anger-hostility,
intrusive, depression, and phobic anxiety," researchers said.
Using factors that stood out in the statistical analysis, they
identified over 85% of the patient cases correctly (Compliance with
therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C: Associations with
psychiatric symptoms, interpersonal problems, and mode of acquisition,
Digestive Diseases and Sciences, 2001;46(10):2060-2065).
Pretherapy psychological assessments might be valuable tools for
deciding which patients would benefit by starting interferon therapy
for chronic hepatitis C when other indications for therapy are
uncertain, Kraus and coauthors said.
The corresponding author for this study is M.R. Kraus, University of
Wurzburg, Medical Clinic, Wurzburg, Germany.
Key points reported in this study include:
Compliance with interferon treatment regimens in patients with
chronic hepatitis C is important to maximize treatment effectiveness,
reduce adverse effects, and minimize costs
Psychiatric symptoms and interpersonal problems are
significantly associated with interferon therapy noncompliance in
chronic hepatitis C
Practitioners might consider psychological assessments for
decision-making processes when considering interferon for patients
with chronic hepatitis C
This article was prepared by Virus Weekly editors from staff and other
reports. Copyright 2001, Virus Weekly via NewsRx.com.
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