AzTrials
AzTrials

Hepatitis CPhase 4NCT00241618

Timing and Duration of Acute Hepatitis C Treatment

A Phase 4 study testing Pegylated interferon alpha 2 and Ribavirin in people with Hepatitis C, run by Ain Shams University at 3 sites in Egypt.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
Search all trials

Trial summary

Spontaneous resolution of acute hepatitis C infection cannot be predicted and the majority of cases persist and become chronic. This randomized trial assesses the efficacy and safety of peginterferon alfa-2b. The investigators hypothesize that therapy strategies could prevent the development of chronic hepatitis. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 50 years
Conditions the study is for
Hepatitis C
What is being tested?
Pegylated interferon alpha 2 and Ribavirin
How many people
180 participants
Where
3 sitesEgypt
Study dates
Jan 2002to Jan 2006
Phase
Phase 4
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 to 50 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult

Who may be able to join

  • Age: 18-50 years, with or without symptoms
  • Diagnosis of acute hepatitis C: elevated serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) > 10 times the upper limit of normal (ULN)
  • Seroconversion from negative to positive anti-HCV antibody status (third-generation enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay)
  • Conversion from negative to positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for HCV-RNA, ruling out other causes of hepatitis by history and appropriate serologic and virologic studies.

Who cannot join

  • Decompensated liver disease
  • Coinfection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or Schistosoma mansoni
  • Marked anemia (hemoglobin level ≤ 120 g/L in women and ≤ 130 g/L in men)
  • Neutropenia (< 1,500/mm3)
  • Thrombocytopenia (< 90,000/mm3)
  • A creatinine concentration > 1.5 times ULN
Show all 17Show fewer
  • Serum alpha-fetoprotein > 25 ng/ml
  • An organ transplant
  • Neoplastic disease
  • Severe cardiac or pulmonary disease
  • Unstable thyroid dysfunction
  • A psychiatric disorder
  • Seizure disorder
  • Severe retinopathy
  • A current pregnancy or were breast feeding or unwillingness to practice contraception
  • Therapy with immunomodulatory agents within the last 6 months
  • Alcohol or drug dependence within 1 year of study entry.

Trial locations and contacts

3 sites in 1 country.

Egypt3 sites

  • ASU Specialized Hospital

    Cairo, Cairo Governorate, 11351

  • ASU

    Cairo, 03316

  • Shebin Liver Center

    Cairo, 11351

Other trials in Egypt

About this study

Official title: Phase IV Study of Treatment of Acute Hepatitis C With Pegylated Interferon

Spontaneous resolution of acute hepatitis C infection cannot be predicted and the majority of cases persist and become chronic. This randomized trial assesses the efficacy and safety of peginterferon alfa-2b. The investigators hypothesize that therapy strategies could prevent the development of chronic hepatitis.

Read the detailed description

With nearly 4 million people in the United States, and an estimated 170-200 million people worldwide, the hepatitis C virus (HCV) represents a clear and significant public health issue. Unfortunately, for most people infected with HCV (70%-85%) spontaneous resolution is uncommon and 60% to 80% of patients with acute hepatitis C infection develop chronic hepatitis. This randomized trial focuses on defining the effect of treatment of acute HCV on prevention of chronic hepatitis in addition to optimization of the treatment regimen, onset and the length of peginterferon alpha therapy in acute hepatitis C infections. This randomized, multi-center prospective study assesses the efficacy of peginterferon in acute hepatitis. We will also compare differences in sustained viral response rates in patients with acute hepatitis C starting treatment at 8, 12, or 24 weeks. We will also compare the efficacy of 8, 12 or 24 weeks therapy with PEG-IFN-alpha. All eligible patients are enrolled and screened for an initial observation period starting from the time of their first positive HCV-RNA-PCR, during which bi-weekly serum ALT and HCV-RNA subjects were performed. Patients who did not resolve spontaneously (loss of HCV-RNA without treatment) by the end of the observation period were randomly assigned to receive PEG-IFN-alpha at the assigned onset and/or duration. Patients who do not consent to therapy at enrollment are included as a non-randomized comparison group. All subjects with SVR were followed for 48 weeks after the follow-up at 24 weeks when SVR was determined.

Conditions
Hepatitis C
Being tested
Pegylated interferon alpha 2, Ribavirin
Keywords
Clinical trial, Randomized, Treatment, Prospective, Parallel Assignment, Efficacy Safety Study
Medical subject headings
Hepatitis C

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Pegylated interferon alpha 2Drug

  • RibavirinDrug

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Sustained viral response rate in treatment group versus control

Secondary outcomes (3)

  1. End of treatment virologic response

  2. Early virologic response at week 4

  3. Quality of life

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted19 Oct 2005 (estimated)
  2. Study startJan 2002
  3. Study completionJan 2006

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase 4
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
180 participants
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT00241618
Sponsor's protocol ID
994058402
Other IDs
AI054887, AI41563, Fulbright, TEMPUS, ISID
Status last verified
Sep 2006
First submitted
18 Oct 2005
Last updated
11 Sep 2006
Results posted
No

Publications

  • Kamal SM, Ismail A, Graham CS, He Q, Rasenack JW, Peters T, Tawil AA, Fehr JJ, Khalifa Kel S, Madwar MM, Koziel MJ. Pegylated interferon alpha therapy in acute hepatitis C: relation to hepatitis C virus-specific T cell response kinetics. Hepatology. 2004 Jun;39(6):1721-31. doi: 10.1002/hep.20266.

    PubMed 15185314

  • Gerlach JT, Diepolder HM, Zachoval R, Gruener NH, Jung MC, Ulsenheimer A, Schraut WW, Schirren CA, Waechtler M, Backmund M, Pape GR. Acute hepatitis C: high rate of both spontaneous and treatment-induced viral clearance. Gastroenterology. 2003 Jul;125(1):80-8. doi: 10.1016/s0016-5085(03)00668-1.

    PubMed 12851873

  • Nomura H, Sou S, Tanimoto H, Nagahama T, Kimura Y, Hayashi J, Ishibashi H, Kashiwagi S. Short-term interferon-alfa therapy for acute hepatitis C: a randomized controlled trial. Hepatology. 2004 May;39(5):1213-9. doi: 10.1002/hep.20196.

    PubMed 15122749

  • Kamal SM, Rasenack JW, Bianchi L, Al Tawil A, El Sayed Khalifa K, Peter T, Mansour H, Ezzat W, Koziel M. Acute hepatitis C without and with schistosomiasis: correlation with hepatitis C-specific CD4(+) T-cell and cytokine response. Gastroenterology. 2001 Sep;121(3):646-56. doi: 10.1053/gast.2001.27024.

    PubMed 11522749

  • Santantonio T, Sinisi E, Guastadisegni A, Casalino C, Mazzola M, Gentile A, Leandro G, Pastore G. Natural course of acute hepatitis C: a long-term prospective study. Dig Liver Dis. 2003 Feb;35(2):104-13. doi: 10.1016/s1590-8658(03)00007-0.

    PubMed 12747629

  • Wiegand J, Jackel E, Cornberg M, Hinrichsen H, Dietrich M, Kroeger J, Fritsch WP, Kubitschke A, Aslan N, Tillmann HL, Manns MP, Wedemeyer H. Long-term follow-up after successful interferon therapy of acute hepatitis C. Hepatology. 2004 Jul;40(1):98-107. doi: 10.1002/hep.20291.

    PubMed 15239091

  • Kamal SM, El Tawil AA, Nakano T, He Q, Rasenack J, Hakam SA, Saleh WA, Ismail A, Aziz AA, Madwar MA. Peginterferon alpha-2b and ribavirin therapy in chronic hepatitis C genotype 4: impact of treatment duration and viral kinetics on sustained virological response. Gut. 2005 Jun;54(6):858-66. doi: 10.1136/gut.2004.057182.

    PubMed 15888797

  • Jaeckel E, Cornberg M, Wedemeyer H, Santantonio T, Mayer J, Zankel M, Pastore G, Dietrich M, Trautwein C, Manns MP; German Acute Hepatitis C Therapy Group. Treatment of acute hepatitis C with interferon alfa-2b. N Engl J Med. 2001 Nov 15;345(20):1452-7. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa011232.

    PubMed 11794193

  • Larghi A, Zuin M, Crosignani A, Ribero ML, Pipia C, Battezzati PM, Binelli G, Donato F, Zanetti AR, Podda M, Tagger A. Outcome of an outbreak of acute hepatitis C among healthy volunteers participating in pharmacokinetics studies. Hepatology. 2002 Oct;36(4 Pt 1):993-1000. doi: 10.1053/jhep.2002.36129.

    PubMed 12297849

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A Phase 4 study testing Pegylated interferon alpha 2 and Ribavirin in people with Hepatitis C, run by Ain Shams University at 3 sites in Egypt.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 17 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 11 Sep 2006. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 3 sites in Egypt. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

What does this phase mean?

Phase 4 studies take place after a treatment is approved, to learn more about its long-term benefits and risks in everyday use.

Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Sustained viral response rate in treatment group versus control. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT00241618, which also lists 9 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 11 Sep 2006.

AzTrials uses cookies for analytics and advertising. You can accept or reject them; the site works either way. Privacy Policy.

Free account

Log in to keep searching

You’ve used your 3 free searches. AzTrials is free: log in or create a free account to keep searching clinical trials and save the ones you want to follow.

Create a free accountLog in