|
"Interferon alfa-2b alone or in
combination with ribavirin as initial treatment for chronic hepatitis C,"
by John G. McHutchinson and 9 others, for the Hepatitis Interventional Therapy
Group, New England Journal of Medicine, 329(21):1485-92, November 1998.
[Authors' affiliations: 8 U.S. institutions]
Abstract: "Background.
Only 15 to 20 percent of patients with chronic hepatitis C have a sustained
virologic response to interferon therapy. We compared the efficacy and safety
of recombinant interferon alfa-2b alone with those of a combination of
interferon alfa-2b and ribavirin for the initial treatment of patients with
chronic hepatitis C. Methods. We randomly assigned 912 patients
with chronic hepatitis C to receive standard-dose interferon alfa-2b alone or
in combination with ribavirin (1000 or 1200 mg orally per day, depending on
body weight) for 24 or 48 weeks. Efficacy was assessed by measurements of
serum hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA and serum aminotransferase and by liver
biopsy. Results. The rate of sustained virologic response
(defined as an undetectable serum HCV RNA level 24 weeks after treatment was
completed) was higher among patients who received combination therapy for
either 24 weeks (70 of 228 patients, 31 percent) or 48 weeks (87 of 228
patients, 38 percent) than among patients who received interferon alone for
either 24 weeks (13 of 231 patients, 6 percent) or 48 weeks (29 of 225
patients, 13 percent) (P<0.001 for the comparison of interferon alone with
both 24 weeks and 48 weeks of combination treatment). Among patients with HCV
genotype 1 infection, the best response occurred in those who were treated for
48 weeks with interferon and ribavirin. Histologic improvement was more common
in patients who were treated with combination therapy for either 24 weeks (57
percent) or 48 weeks (61 percent) than in those who were treated with
interferon alone for either 24 weeks (44 percent) or 48 weeks (41 percent).
The drug doses had to be reduced and treatment discontinued more often in
patients who were treated with combination therapy. Conclusions.
In patients with chronic hepatitis C, initial therapy with interferon and
ribavirin was more effective than treatment with interferon alone."
This 1998 report from the New England Journal of Medicine was cited 39
times in current journal articles indexed in the ISI database during
July-August 2000. During that two-month period, this was the second-most-cited
paper in medicine published in the last two years (aside from reviews). Prior
to the most recent bimonthly count, citations to the paper have accrued as
follows:
May-June 2000: 30 citations
March-April 2000: 41
January-February 2000: 20
November-December 1999: 21
September-October 1999: 19
July-August 1999: 12
May-June 1999: 15
March-April 1999: 6
January-February 1999: 2
November-December 1998: 1
Total citations to date: 206
SOURCE: Hot
Papers Database (Available from the ISI
Research Services Group in a CD-ROM version containing data on
hundreds of highly cited papers published during the last two years.
User interface permits searching by author, organization, journal,
field, and more. Total citations, as well as citations accrued during
successive bimonthly periods, can be assessed and graphed. Database is
combined with subscription to the ISI newsletter Science
Watch®; updated discs containing the
most recent bimonthly data are mailed with each new issue, six times a
year.)
Previous Page | Return to SCI-BYTES
Main Menu
| Return to 2000 Menu
If you came from the Thomson Scientific Web site, click
here to return
|
cites
:
