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Early detection of interstitial pneumonia by monitoring KL‐6 in a chronic hepatitis C patient undergoing pegylated interferon and ribavirin therapy
Author(s) -
IchikawaYamada Yuki,
Joshita Satoru,
Tsukahara Yoshinori,
Kimura Takefumi,
Morita Susumu,
Kamijo Atsushi,
Umemura Takeji,
Ichijo Tetsuya,
Matsumoto Akihiro,
Yoshizawa Kaname,
Tanaka Eiji
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
hepatology research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.123
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1872-034X
pISSN - 1386-6346
DOI - 10.1111/j.1872-034x.2011.00837.x
Subject(s) - medicine , ribavirin , pegylated interferon , discontinuation , gastroenterology , pneumonia , crackles , interstitial lung disease , hepatitis c , lung , hepatitis c virus , pathology , immunology , virus
A 58‐year‐old woman with chronic hepatitis C developed interstitial pneumonia (IP) while undergoing pegylated interferon (PEG IFN)‐α‐2a and ribavirin (RBV) therapy. Serum levels of sialylated carbohydrate antigen KL‐6 (KL‐6), a known marker of disease activity in fibrosing lung disorders, had been regularly measured once a month for early detection of IP, and had begun rising noticeably from 12 weeks to 540 U/mL at 33 weeks of treatment. On examination, remarkable fine crackles were detected by dorsal auscultation and bilateral ground‐glass opacities and reticular shadows were depicted by computed tomography. The patient successfully recovered from her early‐stage pneumonia by immediate discontinuation of therapy, which indicates that regular monitoring of serum KL‐6 may be effective for avoidance of IP progression induced by PEG IFN and RBV therapy.