Is physical activity possible and beneficial for patients with hepatitis C receiving pegylated interferon and ribavirin therapy?
The great majority of patients with chronic viral hepatitis C are treated with pegylated interferon-ribavirin therapy. The aim of this study was to demonstrate that these patients were able to have some form of physical exercise, and that this activity can lead to an improvement in their quality-of-life. Twelve volunteer patients with hepatitis C, who were either sedentary or had become sedentary and who had been treated by combination therapy for the past few weeks, were recruited at hepatology clinics in the Midi-Pyrénées region of France early in 2006. All patients attended a sports medicine consultation for an initial evaluation: maximal aerobic power and maximal oxygen consumption tests, maximum heart rate (MHR), search for contraindications for participation in the proposed program of physical exercise. The patients were given a heart rate monitor so they could measure their heart rate during physical exercise and check that they exercised under safe conditions and remained withi
