Outcome of acute symptomatic non-A, non-B hepatitis: a 13-year follow-up study of hepatitis C virus markers.
Thirty-nine of 61 prospectively followed patients who had had acute non-A, non-B hepatitis in 1978 were clinically reexamined in 1991 and tested for antibodies to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) with a second generation ELISA and RIBA and for HCV RNA by PCR. Acute hepatitis C was diagnosed in stored sera from 1978 in 24 patients, who were found still to be anti-HCV positive in 1991, and 16 of them were also HCV RNA positive. The majority of anti-HCV positive patients with or without HCV RNA had elevated serum ALT levels 13 years after onset of their acute hepatitis C. After 13 years follow-up, 1.6% of the patients had died of end-stage liver disease, 8% of anti-HCV positive patients had histologically confirmed liver cirrhosis, 79% of anti-HCV positive patients were judged to have chronic infection, whereas 21% seemed to have recovered. To conclude, we found that a majority of our patients with acute symptomatic hepatitis C continued to be viraemic 13 years after onset of hepatitis C, and that all continued to be anti-HCV positive by second-generation ELISA.
Mattsson
L
L
Karolinska Institute, Department of Infectious Diseases, Huddinge Hospital, Sweden.
Sönnerborg
A
A
Weiland
O
O
D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000201:enzymology / Q000276:immunology*; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis
D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D012367:RNA, Viral; D000410:Alanine Transaminase