Repeated Panniculitis Induced by Pegylated Interferon Alpha 2a in a Patient with Chronic Hepatitis C

June Seok Song; Joo Hyun Sohn; Jae Yoon Jeong; Ji-Hee Min; Won Seok Choi; One Zoong Kim; Ju Yeon Pyo

doi:10.4166/kjg.2016.67.5.272

Journal List > Korean J Gastroenterol > v.67(5) > 1007512

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Song, Sohn, Jeong, Min, Choi, Kim, and Pyo: Repeated Panniculitis Induced by Pegylated Interferon Alpha 2a in a Patient with Chronic Hepatitis C

Case Report

Korean J Gastroenterol 2016;67(5):272-276.

Published online: 4 October 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4166/kjg.2016.67.5.272

Repeated Panniculitis Induced by Pegylated Interferon Alpha 2a in a Patient with Chronic Hepatitis C

June Seok Song, Joo Hyun Sohn, Jae Yoon Jeong, Ji-Hee Min, Won Seok Choi, One Zoong Kim, Ju Yeon Pyo¹

Department of Internal Medicine, Hanyang University Guri Hospital, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Guri, Korea

¹Department of Pathology, Hanyang University Guri Hospital, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Guri, Korea

Correspondence to: Joo Hyun Sohn, Department of Internal Medicine, Hanyang University Guri Hospital, 153 Gyeongchun-ro, Guri 11923, Korea. Tel: +82-31-560-2225, Fax: +82-31-555-2998, E-mail: sonjh@hanyang.ac.kr

Received 22 December 2015 Revised 19 February 2016 Accepted 25 February 2016

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Pegylated interferon alpha (PEG-IFN-α) is widely used to treat chronic hepatitis C in combination with ribavirin. Many adverse effects of PEG-IFN-α, such as hematologic, psychologic, dermatologic, immunologic, and other abnormalities, have been reported, and some serious adverse events lead to PEG-IFN-α treatment discontinuation. For very rare adverse events such as panniculitis, there are no established guidelines on whether to continue PEG-IFN-α treatment. Published reports on panniculitis induced by PEG-IFN-α 2a are sparse. Herein we report a case of repeated occurrences of panniculitis in a patient with chronic hepatitis C, leading to treatment cessation.

Keywords: Panniculitis, Peginterferon alfa-2a, Hepatitis C, Adverse effects

References

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Fig. 1.

The skin lesion was reddish and edematous, and the size of subcutaneous nodule was 6×6 cm.

Fig. 2.

Ultrasonographic findings. Soft tissue ultrasound shows cellulitis, panniculitis and myositis of the left abdominal wall compatible with chemical-induced inflammation.

Fig. 3.

Microscopic findings of the punch biopsy specimen (H&E). (A) Histology of bisected tissue section of abdominal skin lesion (×12.5). (B) Superficial perivascular and interstitial lymphocytic infiltrates (×100). (C) Deep perivascular and interstitial lymphocytic infiltrates (×200) (arrows).(D) In deep dermis, a few degenerated adipocytes with lymphocytic infiltration (×200) (arrow).

Fig. 4.

Microscopic findings of typical panniculitis. Lobular panniculitis with mixed infiltration of lymphocyte and plasma cell (H&E, ×40). Courtesy of Yoo et al. (Korean J Dermatol 2012;50:640–643).

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