Conditions: Thrombocytopenia Hepatitis C
Keywords: Thrombocytopenia Hepatitis Platelets Eltrombopag Liver Disease Antiviral Treatment
Allocation: NA | Intervention model: SINGLE_GROUP
Enrollment: 7
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
This study will provide chronic hepatitis C patients with low platelets (less than 75x10\^9/L) the opportunity to undergo treatment and possible cure of their virus. The main hepatitis C drugs will be administered as standard of care, with the addition of the study drug eltrombopag.

The investigators hypothesize that providing eltrombopag to chronic hepatitis C patients with low platelets (less than 75x10\^9/L) will permit the initiation and completion of antiviral triple therapy with boceprevir, ribavirin, and pegylated-interferon.

Detailed description:
SQUELCH-C is an investigator-initiated, single arm, non-blinded pilot study on the use of eltrombopag in combination with ribavirin, pegylated-interferon, and boceprevir, for patients who would not otherwise be treatment candidates because of low platelet counts (less than 75x10\^9/L).

Administration of the drugs ribavirin and boceprevir will be standard of care, with one exception for interferon.

The total drug treatment period for the study patient will range from 32 - 56 weeks, depending on liver disease stage and viral response. Follow-up will take place at 12 and 24 weeks post treatment to evaluate for sustained viral response. Total study participation may require 1.5 years.

Arms:
arm 1: All study patients will undergo intervention in this study.

The intervention will be a lead-in with eltrombopag and antiviral triple therapy (interferon, ribavirin and boceprevir).

Interventions: intervention 1: Eltrombopag
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: Study patients will be provided eltrombopag to raise platelet levels before anti-hepatitis C drugs are initiated, and will continue eltrombopag throughout the study.

Protocol document: