Prophylaxis against HCV recurrence after liver transplantation: effect of interferon and ribavirin combination

C IRRHOSIS caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV) accounts for at least 30% of all liver transplants (OLT) currently performed in adults.’ Good survival of patients with such an indication has been described, even though the reappearance of viral genome (HCV-RNA) occurs in more than 90% of patients during the first year after transplantation.‘.’ The course of recurrent HCV graft infection is generally benign. Nevertheless, some concerns about the long-term outcome of the disease have arisen since at least 50% of HCV-RNA positive patients develop chronic hepatitis within two years’,2 and 35% of livers are seriuosly injured (chronic active hepatitis and cirrhosis) 5 years after transplantation.4 In the present study, a therapeutic attempt to prevent recurrent HCV infection was undertaken in a group of HCV-RNA positive transplant recipients, using a combination of interferon and ribavirin early after OLT. The preliminary results of this pilot experience, the first of its kind, are reported herein.