Objectives:
To describe a patient who developed an unusual polyneuropathy after treatment with interferon alfa-2a for hepatitis C and to discuss issues related to diagnosis and pathogenesis.
Design:
Case report.
Setting:
Tertiary care center.
Case:
A 46-year-old man with chronic hepatitis C had acute onset of an axonal polyneuropathy with prominent smallfiber involvement shortly after completing a standard 6-month course of therapy with low-dose interferon alfa-2a.
Main Outcome and Results:
Further interferon treatment for hepatitis C was discontinued.
Conclusion:
Standard, low-dose interferon alfa-2a treatment can produce a persistent predominantly smallfiber polyneuropathy.