The presence of thyroid auto-antibodies is a risk factor for thyroid dysfunction in chronic hepatitis C patients during treatment with interferon-α and ribavirin

Aim: to investigate the prevalence of thyroid dysfunction (td) and thyroid peroxidase antibodies (tpo-ab) and to determine the risk factors of td in chronic hepatitis c patients during treatment with interferon-α and ribavirin combination therapy. study design: prospective clinical trial place and duration of study: lahore general hospital from march 2011 to december 2011. methods: the study enrolled sixty diagnosed patients of chronic hepatitis c with normal baseline thyroid hormones (tsh,ft4). thyroid peroxidase antibodies (tpo-ab) were also assayed. patients were treated with ifn-α and data was analyzed to determine the co-relation between thyroid dysfunction (td) and presence of thyroid per-oxidase antibodies (tpo-ab). baseline results were compared with those obtained during and at the end of interferon combination therapy. results: the incidence of thyroid dysfunction (td) was 10%,hypothyroidism (6.6%) was more common than hyperthyroidism (3.4%). the percentage of tpo-ab positive patients was 1.7% before treatment and thyroid autoimmunity developed in 5% of patients after treatment with p-value 0.662. analysis indicated that tpo-ab positivity was most important risk factor for thyroid dysfunction (td) in chronic hepatitis c patients treated with ifn-α and ribavirin. conclusion:patients with chronic hepatitis c,undergoing interferon-alpha &ribavirin therapy are more prone to develop autoimmune thyroid disease. tpo-ab positivity,either before or during treatment with ifn-α and ribavirin is a risk factor for thyroid autoimmunity and dysfunction (td) in chronic hepatitis c patients.