Correlation between hepatic histopathology, serum ALT elevation and HCV-RNA titer in patients with chronic hepatitis-C

Abstract

!chronic viral hepatitis-C is an international medical ' challepge and in Egypt, is considered to be a major health probldm with many socioeconomic impacts. ! fThe results of previous studies did not settle the correlations between the serum ALT level, HCV-RNA serum titer, hepatic histopathological findings and HCV-genotype in patients with chronic hepatitis-C. However, a few of these studiewere conducted on patients with HCV-genotype 4. I ' JThis study was conducted on 50 naive patients suffering from 'chronic hepatitis-C, 52% of them were ofHCV-genotype

4. All of them were investigated quantitative HCV-RNA (b-DNA),

for serum ALT level, HCV-genotype and

histopatholical evaluation of liver biopsy according to histopathological activity index scoring.

ighty-eight percent of the included Egyptian patients I • were lof HCV-genotype 4 and in 44 % of them, previous parentfral an.ti-bilharzial therapy was suspected to be the source of infection.