Clinical Outcomes of Japanese Encephalitis after Combination Treatment of Immunoglobulin, Ribavirin, and Interferon-α2b

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Japanese encephalitis (JE) is caused by the JE virus of the Flaviviridae family and is spread by mosquito bites, and no specific antiviral treatment for it exists. Here we describe the clinical presentations, laboratory findings, clinical outcomes, and adverse events after combination treatment of immunoglobulin, ribavirin, and interferon-α2b administered to patients with JE. METHODS: Data were collected and reviewed from a prospective cohort of encephalitis patients admitted to Seoul National University Hospital between August 1, 2010 and October 31, 2019. We reviewed the medical records of the patients diagnosed with JE and treated either with supportive care only or with combination treatment of intravenous immunoglobulin, oral ribavirin, and subcutaneous interferon-α2b. RESULTS: Eleven patients were diagnosed with laboratory-confirmed JE based on the diagnosis criteria of JE. The median age was 61 years, and five patients were male. Eight patients were treated with the combination therapy, while three patients received supportive management only. Four of the eight patients (50%) treated with the combination therapy showed partial recovery, while one patient (12.5%) showed complete recovery. Two patients experienced hemolytic anemia related to ribavirin and febrile reaction to immunoglobulin, respectively. Among the three patients who received supportive management only, one (33.3%) showed partial recovery and the other two (67.7%) did not show improvement. CONCLUSIONS: Combination treatment of immunoglobulin, ribavirin, and interferon-α2b was found to be tolerable in JE in this study. Further studies of appropriate designs and involving larger numbers of patients are warranted to explore the efficacy of this combination therapy.