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 small-fiber 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 small-fiber polyneuropathy.