Volume 74 - 2011 - Fasc.4 - Letters
Reversible sudden sensorineural hearing loss during chronic hepatitis C treat- ment with pegylated interferon-ribavirin : letter to editor
Combination of pegylated interferon alpha (PegIFNa) plus ribavirin is currently the standard therapy for patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Sudden hearing loss (SHL) is a rare complication of CHC treatment that is not well documented. We report a case of a 42-year- old Greek man with CHC (genotype 1b) who developed right-sided hearing loss 46 weeks after the initiation of therapy with PegIFNa-2a subcutaneously, at a dose of 180µg/week, and ribavirin orally, at a dose of 1200 mg/day, for a scheduled period of 48 weeks.
Ileocolonic involvement of follicular small cell lymphoma : A Rare Entity
Follicular lymphoma (FL) is the most common of the indolent lymphomas. On the other hand, FLs occur seldom in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), representing only 1-3% of all GIT B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas. The most frequent site of involvement is the small intes- tine, particularly the duodenum and terminal ileum, followed by colon (1). In the literature, only one case of the terminal ileum and colonic involvement of follicular lymphoma has been reported (2). Herein, we report a second case of terminal ileum and colon involvement by a follicular small cell lymphoma.
Endoscopic and ultrasonographic diagnosis of intramural small bowel hematoma apparently caused by warfarin
Nontraumatic intramural hematoma in the small bowel is uncommon, but has been reported to occur in the jejunum, ileum and duodenum in descending order of frequency (1). For diagnosis of this condition, endoscopy, computed tomography or ultrasonography are usually sufficient (1,2). Here we describe the endo- scopic and ultrasonographic findings of a patient who had intramural small bowel hematoma apparently caused by warfarin.
Autoimmune Hepatitis with anti SLA antibodies
Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a chronic progressive liver disease characterized by female predominance, hypergammaglobulinemia, specific autoantibodies, an association with HLA DR3 & DR4 and a favourable response to immunosuppressive treatment. The diagnosis of AIH includes a combination of clinical, laboratory and histological features (1).
Pegylated interferon associated lichen planus at the injection site
Pegylated interferon alpha-2b (PEG-IFN) is a formu- lation of recombinant human interferon conjugated with polyethylene glycol. Compared with standard interferon, pegylated interferon has a longer half-life and superior antiviral efficacy in the treatment of hepatitis C. So it has become the standard therapy with ribavirin for the treat- ment of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) (1). One of the side effects of pegylated interferon is localized inflammatory skin lesions such as eczematous reactions, cutaneous necrosis and vitiligo at the injection site. Herein we report the first case of lichen planus (LP) at the injection site due to pegylated interferon and ribavirin combina- tion therapy.
