Incidence and risk factors of retinopathy in Egyptian patients with chronic hepatitis C virus treated with pegylated interferon plus ribavirin

Fouad, Yasser; Khalaf, Hanaa Mohamed; Ibraheem, Hala; Rady, Heba; Helmy, Amal K.

doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2011.09.022

Cited by 14 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 24 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Also, we found that 6 patients of IFN-induced retinopathy were non-responders (failed to achieve ETR) which was similar to that reported by Fouad et al (25).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Ophthalmological side effects of interferon therapy of chronic hepatitis C

Medhat¹,

Esmat²,

Hamza³

et al. 2016

Hepatobiliary Surg. Nutr.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Egypt has one of the highest prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) worldwide.Ophthalmological side effects are recognized complications of interferon (IFN) therapy. This study aimed to evaluate IFN-induced ophthalmological manifestations in patients receiving PEGylated interferon (PEG IFN) and ribavirin (RBV) and to assess the effect of IFN duration, response and systemic risk factors on the severity. Methods:We retrospectively analyzed 100 patients with chronic HCV who were candidates for PEG-IFN and RBV therapy. All patients were subjected to clinical and ophthalmological examination, laboratory investigations, abdominal ultrasound, colored fundus photography and fundus fluorescein angiography, follow up was made at weeks 12, 24, and 48 of treatment.Results: IFN-induced retinopathy had been found in (9/100; 9%), 5 (5/9; 55.5%) of them had bilateral lesions, (3/9; 33.3%) were treatment responders and (6/9; 66.6%) non responders. The time of retinopathy appearance was mainly at W12. Retinopathy was asymptomatic in most of the affected patients (7/9; 77.77%) and reversible, cotton wool spots was the major associated sign. Patients with older age, DM and or HTN, and non-responders to antiviral therapy were associated with more severe retinopathy. Conclusions:Retinopathy is not a rare complication of IFN therapy for chronic HCV infection, but fortunately it's asymptomatic and reversible. Ophthalmological assessment at base-line and at follow up during IFN treatment is very important.

show abstract

“…Also, we found that 6 patients of IFN-induced retinopathy were non-responders (failed to achieve ETR) which was similar to that reported by Fouad et al (25).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Ophthalmological side effects of interferon therapy of chronic hepatitis C

Medhat¹,

Esmat²,

Hamza³

et al. 2016

Hepatobiliary Surg. Nutr.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…1 Twelve patients treated for chronic hepatitis B infection were excluded from the incidence data shown; 2 Sixteen patients treated for chronic hepatitis B infection were excluded from the incidence data shown; 3 Three patients that had baseline diabetic retinopathy were excluded from the incidence data shown. [28] 22 of 84 (26%) Egypt Baseline, 12, 24 and 48 wk and 1 mo after completing treatment IAR: no reduced VA in eyes that developed IAR. Three patients with IAR developed retinal hemorrhages and treatment was ceased.…”

Section: How Common Is Interferon-associated Retinopathy?mentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Older age has been suggested to represent a greater risk for its development, but this has not been a consistent finding [17,19,22,29] . The larger studies that assessed risk factors identified above did not implicate age, with the exception of Fouad et al [28] , Vujosevic et al [29] , Mehta et al [31] and Kim et al [32] . An association of age with the development of interferon-associated retinopathy may be because it is also associated with a higher risk of diabetes and hypertension.…”

Section: Are There Any Groups That Are At Greater Risk For Developingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Observational studies of standard of care therapy for chronic hepatitis C infection during which at least 10 patients developed interferon-associated retinopathy identified diabetes and hypertension as its main risk factors [28,29,31,32] (Table 2). Fouad et al [28] performed a comprehensive study of 84 patients treated with standard of care therapy in Egypt with extensive ophthalmologic follow up.…”

Section: Are There Any Groups That Are At Greater Risk For Developingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fouad et al [28] performed a comprehensive study of 84 patients treated with standard of care therapy in Egypt with extensive ophthalmologic follow up. Their study, which included a number of patients with hypertension and diabetes, 12 and 16 respectively, found that both predicted the development of interferon-associated retinopathy using logistic regression analysis.…”

Section: Are There Any Groups That Are At Greater Risk For Developingmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Ophthalmologic complications of antiviral therapy in hepatitis C treatment

O’Day

Gillies

Ahlenstiel

2013

WJG

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Antiviral therapy consisting of interferon-alpha and ribavirin for chronic hepatitis C infection is associated with multi-system side-effects. Ophthalmologic complications are common and can be classified into two groups: interferon-associated retinopathy and atypical adverse events. Interferon-associated retinopathy has been investigated by multiple observational studies that have found widely divergent results. The clinical importance of this complication is, consequently, controversial. This review examines the literature with the specific goal of identifying the most important ophthalmologic issues facing the hepatologist prescribing antiviral therapy. Accordingly, it assesses the incidence of interferon-associated retinopathy, as well as its risk factors, pathogenesis, clinical manifestations and options for management using data from the observational studies. The likely benefit of a screening program, especially one targeting patients with the highest risk of developing interferon-associated retinopathy, is analysed. Atypical ophthalmologic adverse events occur less frequently than interferon-associated retinopathy during antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis C infection. They often, however, lead to irreversible vision loss. We examine the reports of these adverse events - in individual case reports or case series and in the observational studies investigating interferon-associated retinopathy - to describe the spectrum of these adverse events, the likely outcome for patients and to highlight the most important areas of future clinical research.

show abstract