Acquired factor VIII inhibitor in a non-hemophilic patient with chronic hepatitis C viral infection

Hepatitis C treatment with triple therapy in a patient with hemophilia A

We report a case of successful treatment of chronic hepatitis C infection with telaprevir-based triple therapy in a patient with hemophilia A complicated by factor VIII inhibitor. A twenty-two years old male with hereditary hemophilia A and high-titer factor VIII inhibitor was taking maintenance doses of recombinant factor VIII. He visited our clinic for treatment of his chronic hepatitis C with the newly instituted protease inhibitor based therapy. He was diagnosed with hepatitis C genotype 1a at one year of age. He was initiated on telaprevir, ribavirin and peg-interferon for treatment of hepatitis C and qualified for response-guided therapy. He completed treatment at 24 wk with minimal adverse effects. Notably, after 4 wk of hepatitis C treatment, his factor VIII inhibitor screen was negative and the dose for recombinant factor VIII decreased by half of the initial dosing before he was treated for hepatitis C. We suspect that suppressing hepatitis C may help decrease factor VIII inhibitor level and the need for recombinant factor VIII.

Acquired factor VIII inhibitor in patients with hepatitis C virus infection and the role of interferon-alpha: a case report

A patient with HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) co-infection developed an autoantibody to factor VIII after 8.7 months of treatment with pegylated interferon-alpha and ribavirin. Three previous cases of the development of factor VIII autoantibody in patients infected with the hepatitis C virus have been reported. Only one of these patients was treated with interferon-alpha, and this patient had hemophilia A, a condition prone to development of factor VIII autoantibody, even without interferon treatment. It is possible that chronic HCV infection itself, which has been associated with immunological disorders, is responsible for this phenomenon, but the immunomodulatory properties of interferon-alpha may also contribute to this rare occurrence. No previous case of factor VIII inhibitor in a patient infected with HIV has been reported.

Severe Acquired Hemophilia with Factor VIII Inhibition Associated with Acetaminophen and Chlorpheniramine

OBJECTIVE:

To report a case of acquired hemophilia with a high-titer factor VIII inhibitor associated with the use of acetaminophen and chlorpheniramine in combination.

CASE SUMMARY:

An 83-year-old woman presented with a severe bleeding disorder 2 weeks after she was prescribed acetaminophen and chlorpheniramine for treatment of a flu-like illness. Laboratory studies showed severe anemia with greatly reduced factor VIII activity and the presence of a high-titer factor VIII inhibitor at 228 Bethesda units. Treatment with high-dose corticosteroids, transfusion of several units of red blood cells, and repeated infusions of factor VIII bypassing activity was successful. Complete clinical and laboratory remission was achieved after 4 weeks of treatment. Use of the Naranjo probability scale suggested a possible association between this adverse event and treatment with acetaminophen and chlorpheniramine.

DISCUSSION:

Acquired hemophilia due to factor VIII inhibitor(s) has been associated with the use of drugs such as thioxanthenes, interferon, and fludarabine. As of this writing, to the best of our knowledge, no other case has been reported among patients receiving acetaminophen or chlorpheniramine.

CONCLUSIONS:

We suggest that acquired hemophilia due to factor VIII inhibitor(s) should be considered in the appropriate setting when patients present with unexplained and even minor bleeding while on treatment with acetaminophen or chlorpheniramine alone or combined.