Incident severe thrombocytopenia in veterans treated with pegylated interferon plus ribavirin for chronic hepatitis C infection

ABSTRACT Purpose We sought to determine the incidence and risks for severe thrombocytopenia (platelets 100 000–150 000/μL (N = 162), and >150000μL (N = 727). The cumulative incidence of severe thrombocytopenia and major bleeding events were determined for each baseline platelet group for 48 weeks following treatment initiation. Multivariable Cox regression was used to identify risk factors for incident severe thrombocytopenia. Results Overall, severe thrombocytopenia occurred in 6.1% (N = 60), but in 41.1% of patients with pre‐treatment platelet counts 50 000–100 000/μL compared with 11.7% (p