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Summary Background Peginterferon-α–based therapy frequently leads to neutropenia. It remains unclear whether neutropenia is associated with bacterial infection in chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Aim To evaluate the risk of bacterial infection and neutropenia in patients with CHC treated with peginterferon-α/ribavirin. Methods In all, 207 patients with CHC with (group A, n = 30) and without (group B, n = 177) baseline neutropenia were treated with peginterferon-α/ribavirin. Results Group A had significantly higher rates of moderate (

Background: Cerebrovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, a well-accepted causal agent for liver-related diseases, has been reported to increase the risk for atherothrombosis. However, the association between HCV infection and cerebrovascular diseases remains inconclusive and the dose-response relationship between serum HCVRNA levels and cerebrovascular death has never been elucidated. Methods: This study enrolled 23,665 residents aged between 30–65 years in community during 1991–1992. They were personally interviewed using structured questionnaires and provided blood samples for various serological and biochemical testing at study entry. Those who were seropositive for antibodies against HCV (anti-HCV) were examined for serum HCVRNA levels. HCV genotypes were determined in participants who had detectable serum HCVRNA. Cerebrovascular deaths of participants during follow-up were ascertained by computerized linkage with National Death Certification profiles from 1991 to 2007 (ICD-9: 430–438). Person-years at risk were calculated for each person as time from enrollment date to either the date of death, or to the end of 2007, whichever came first. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate relative risks and 95% confidence intervals for magnitude of HCV after adjustment of other risk factors. Results: There were 240 cerebrovascular deaths with 361,171 person-years of follow-up, giving a mortality of 66.5 per 100,000 person-years in this population. The cumulative risks for cerebrovascular death were 1.0% and 2.7% for anti-HCV seronegatives and anti-HCV seropositives (p < 0.001). Participants seropositive for anti-HCV had increased risk of cerebrovascular death, with a multivariate-adjusted relative risk (95% confidence interval) of 2.27 (1.56–3.30). Elevated serum HCVRNA levels increased the risk for cerebrovascular death with dose-response trend (p < 0.001). The adjusted relative risks were 1.52 (0.67– 3.44), 1.73 (0.43–6.98), 2.31 (1.25–4.25), and 3.45 (1.76– 6.75) in corresponding to participants with serum HCVRNA level