Case Report
Copyright ©2006 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Aug 7, 2006; 12(29): 4757-4760
Published online Aug 7, 2006. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v12.i29.4757
Sustained viral response of a case of acute hepatitis C virus infection via needle-stick injury
Takayuki Kogure, Yoshiyuki Ueno, Noriatsu Kanno, Koji Fukushima, Yoko Yamagiwa, Futoshi Nagasaki, Eiji Kakazu, Yasunori Matsuda, Osamu Kido, Yu Nakagome, Masashi Ninomiya, Tooru Shimosegawa
Takayuki Kogure, Yoshiyuki Ueno, Noriatsu Kanno, Koji Fukushima, Yoko Yamagiwa, Futoshi Nagasaki, Eiji Kakazu, Yasunori Matsuda, Osamu Kido, Yu Nakagome, Masashi Ninomiya, Tooru Shimosegawa, Division of Gastroenterology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-1 Seiryo, Aobaku, Sendai 980-8574, Japan
Correspondence to: Yoshiyuki Ueno, MD, PhD, Division of Gastroenterology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-1 Seiryo, Aoba, Sendai 980-8574, Japan. yueno@mail.tains.tohoku.ac.jp
Telephone: +81-22-7177171
Received: March 22, 2006
Revised: March 28, 2006
Accepted: April 21, 2006
Published online: August 7, 2006
Abstract

A 29-year-old nurse with a hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection caused by needle-stick injury was treated with interferon-beta starting about one year after the onset of acute hepatitis. The patient developed acute hepatitis C with symptoms of general fatigues, jaundice, and ascites 4 wk after the needle-stick injury. When these symptoms were presented, the patient was pregnant by artificial insemination. She hoped to continue her pregnancy. After delivery, biochemical liver enzyme returned to normal levels. Nevertheless, HCV RNA was positive and the pathological finding indicated a progression to chronicity. The genotype was 1b with low viral load. Daily intravenous injection of interferon-beta at the dosage of six million units was started and continued for eight weeks. HCV was eradicated without severe adverse effects. In acute hepatitis C, delaying therapy is considered to reduce the efficacy but interferon-beta therapy is one of the useful treatments for hepatitis C infection in chronic phase.

Keywords: Hepatitis C virus; Acute hepatitis; Interferon-beta; Needle stick injury