Pegylated interferon α-2b plus ribavirin for older patients with chronic hepatitis C

Table 5 Reasons for discontinuation of pegylated interferon plus ribavirin treatment by hepatitis C virus genotype 2 patients

	Group C (age < 65 yr)		Group D (age≥65 yr)		Total
	Male (n = 124)	Female (n = 128)	Male (n = 28)	Female (n = 33)
Discontinued number	18	15	4	4	41
Adverse effects	6	11	3	3	23
General fatigue	1	3	1	0	5
Depression	0	2	0	0	2
Appetite loss	0	0	0	0	0
Rash	2	1	0	2	5
Encephalopathy	0	0	0	1	1
Neutropenia	0	2	0	0	2
Anemia	0	0	2	0	2
Thrombocytopenia	2	0	0	0	2
Elevation of ALT	0	0	0	0	0
Hyperthyroidism	0	1	0	0	1
Hypothyroidism	0	1	0	0	1
Retinopathy	0	0	0	0	0
Interstitial pneumonia	0	0	0	0	0
Pulmonary disease(others)	0	0	0	0	0
Psychoneurotic disorder	0	0	0	0	0
Nervous disease1	1	1	0	0	2
Autoimmune disease	0	0	0	0	0
Metabolic disease	0	0	0	0	0
Digestive disorder	0	0	0	0	0
Hepatocellular carcinoma	0	0	0	0	0
Malignancy (extra-liver)	1	0	0	0	1
No effect of treatment	1	0	0	0	1
Economic problem	0	0	0	0	0
Others2	10	4	1	1	16

¹Includes nerve paralysis (n = 1), tetany (n = 1);

²All patients were drop out. ALT: Alanine aminotransferase.