The Safety of Rituximab in Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Positive Patients

Background:The extrahepatic manifes- tations of HCV infection are usually refractory to IFN-!and ribavirin.Given that the pathophysiology is autoimmune disorders,rather than the direct cytotox- icity of HCV,various immunosuppres- sants have been attempted,including rituximab with favorable results. However,questions on the possible opportunistic infections and hepatitis exacerbation by rituximab remain unsolved.