Facial hyperpigmentation during pegylated interferon alpha therapy for chronic hepatitis B infection

Adverse skin reactions with the use of interferon (IFN) alpha alone or in combination with ribavirin have been described in previous reports (1). Hyperpigmen- tation associated with both standard and also pegylated IFN alpha has also been reported in recent years (2-7). However, all patients had chronic hepatitis C, hyperpig- mentation being mostly at tongue and injection sites, and they were on a combination treatment with ribavirin in these reports. In this article, we present, to our knowl- edge, the first case of facial hyperpigmentation during pegylated IFN alpha therapy in a patient with chronic hepatitis B infection.