The effects of interferon alpha-2b in combination with ribavirin on health related quality of life and work productivity

Impact of hepatitis C on health related quality of life

“…Although HCV may diminish HRQOL through complications of advanced cirrhosis, it may also diminish HRQOL in the absence of clinically significant liver disease. [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] The mechanism of HRQOL decrement in the absence of liver damage is unclear. Potential mechanisms include the development of extrahepatic somatic symptoms (e.g., HCVrelated arthralgia and myalgia), extrahepatic disorders (e.g., HCV-related cryoglobulinemia, sicca syndrome, glomerulonephritis), or HCV-related subclinical cognitive dysfunction, among others.…”

“…[4][5][6] However, these end-stage complications are relatively rare compared with the vast majority of patients with HCV in the absence of clinically significant liver disease. Despite the previous consensus that this majority of patients has asymptomatic seropositivity, 7 evolving data now indicate that HCV itself may diminish HRQOL in the absence of advanced liver disease, [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] perhaps as a result of extrahepatic symptoms related to HCV, cognitive dysfunction related to HCV, or a negative synergy between HCV and comorbid psychosocial disorders. 10,21 As awareness grows of the HRQOL decrement from HCV and its clinical consequences, investigators have be-come progressively interested in measuring HRQOL in HCV clinical trials.…”

The effects of HCV infection and management on health-related quality of life

“…In contrast, scores of nonresponders decreased in 8 of 12 measures; the decrease in general health was significant (P Ͻ 0.05). 8 McHutchison et al 27 reported similar results in an evaluation of the effect of CHC and antiviral therapy on HRQL in 905 patients. At baseline, patients had significantly lower scores in 5 of 8 SF-36 domains compared with population norms.…”

“…15 Table 2 lists 15 studies that compared HRQL between patients with HCV infection and healthy controls. 9,[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32] Extrahepatic Manifestations of CHC Affecting HRQL Fatigue. Fatigue is among the most frequent and disabling extrahepatic features of CHC.…”

“…After treatment with standard IFN and RBV or placebo, scores for patients who achieved SVRs exceeded baseline values in 4 of the 5 domains showing impairment at baseline and were not significantly different from the population norms. 27 Figure 2 is a conceptual model illustrating the relationship between HCV infection, antiviral treatment, and diseaserelated and treatment-related side effects.…”