Autoimmune Thyroiditis during Antiviral Therapy with Peginterferon

Combination treatment with pegylated interferon and ribavirin has been established as a standard therapy for chronic hepatitis C. Although interferon therapy is relatively safe, an important side effect is the induction of autoantibodies and autoimmune disease, especially autoimmune thyroid disease. Interferon associated autoimmune thyroid disease can consist of autoimmune hypothyroidism, Graves’ disease, and destructive thyroiditis. Thyroid disease may lead to dose reduction or discontinuation of therapy. To the best of our knowledge, there are no case reports of pegylated interferon induced autoimmune hypothyroidism in Korea. We report here a case of a 26-year-old woman who developed hypothyroidism during antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis C with pegylated interferon. (J Korean Endocr Soc 25:68~71, 2010)