What are the adverse effects of alpha-interferon? How to deal with them? 1, flu-like syndrome manifested as fever, chills, headache, muscle aches and weakness, etc.. Antipyretic and analgesic can be taken when the body temperature exceeds 38.5 degrees. 2. Transient peripheral cytopenia: mainly manifested as a decrease in peripheral blood leukocytes (neutrophils) and platelets. If absolute neutrophil count ≤0.75×109/L and/or platelets <50×109/L, the dose of IFN-α should be reduced; recheck after 1~2 weeks and gradually increase to the original amount if recovered. If the absolute neutrophil count is ≤0.5×109/L and/or platelets <30×109/L, the drug should be discontinued. For those with significantly lower neutrophils, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) or granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) treatment can be tried. 3. Psychiatric abnormalities can be manifested as depression, delusions, severe anxiety and other psychiatric symptoms. For those with severe symptoms, IFN-a should be discontinued promptly, and further consultation with a neuropsychiatrist if necessary. 4, autoimmune diseases some patients can appear autoantibodies, only a small number of patients appear thyroid disease (hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism), diabetes, thrombocytopenia, psoriasis, leukoplakia, rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus-like syndrome, etc., should ask the relevant departments physician consultation common diagnosis and treatment, serious cases should stop the drug. 5, other rare adverse reactions include renal damage (interstitial nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and acute renal failure, etc.), cardiovascular complications (arrhythmia, ischemic heart disease and cardiomyopathy, etc.), retinopathy, hearing loss and interstitial pneumonia, etc. Interferon therapy should be discontinued. What are the contraindications to alpha interferon therapy? Absolute contraindications to alpha interferon therapy include pregnancy, history of psychiatric disorders (e.g., major depression), uncontrolled epilepsy, unabated alcohol or drug abusers, uncontrolled autoimmune disease, decompensated cirrhosis, and symptomatic heart disease. Relative contraindications to alpha interferon therapy include: thyroid disease, retinopathy, psoriasis, previous history of depression, uncontrolled diabetes, hypertension, pre-treatment neutrophil count <1.0 x 109/L and/or platelet count <50 x 109/L, and total bilirubin >51 mmol/L (especially if indirect bilirubin is predominant).