The development of hepatitis C antibody shortly after acute icteric non-A non-B hepatitis.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the relationship between the development of hepatitis C antibody (anti-HCV) and the clinical symptoms in acute hepatitis C.


METHODS
Retrospective analysis of sera from patients with acute non-A non-B hepatitis.


METHODS
Patients admitted to Fairfield Hospital with the diagnosis of acute non-A non-B hepatitis between 1979 and 1989. Inclusion criteria included a typical clinical illness, accompanied by an alanine aminotransferase level of more than 2.5 times the upper limit of normal (normal, less than or equal to 40 U/L) and negative serological test results for acute hepatitis A and B.


METHODS
Time to develop anti-HCV after the onset of symptoms in patients with acute hepatitis C.


RESULTS
Seroconversion was demonstrated in 26 of the 128 patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. In these patients, antibody was detected between one week and 32 weeks after the onset of dark urine; more than half the patients (54%) had seroconverted by four weeks and a third (34%) developed antibodies within two weeks. Of 20 patients who had sera collected within four weeks of the onset of dark urine, 14 (70%) had developed antibody.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that in patients with community-acquired hepatitis C, seroconversion occurs significantly earlier than is observed in patients who have been infected by blood transfusion. Sera taken shortly after the onset of symptomatic hepatitis C may be useful in the diagnosis of this condition.
Fairfield Hospital, Vic.
C K
CK
Fairley
J
J
Hoy
D E
DE
Leslie
S
S
Nicholson
I D
ID
Gust
D000208:Acute Disease; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000276:immunology*; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology*; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D006801:Humans; D007565:Jaundice / Q000209:etiology / Q000652:urine; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D013997:Time Factors
D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies