title: [Virological and clinical aspects of multiple hepatitis virus infections: preliminary data of an italian multicentre study]
abstract: To evaluate the interference between HBV, HCV and HDV and the clinical impact of coinfection as compared with single HBV or HCV infection, we unrolled 618 HBsAg and/or anti-HCV positive subjects (337 with liver biopsy and 281 without liver biopsy) at their first observation at one of the seven Italian Liver Units from 1993 to 1997 (Padova, Rome, Sassari, Naples, Bari, Messina, Palermo). Serum HBV-DNA by dot-blot was found more frequently in patients with HBV infection alone (52% of 133 cases) than in those with HBV-HCV coinfection (28% of 64 cases, p<0.005) or in those with HBV-HDV-HCV coinfection (12% of 25 cases, p<0.0005) or with HBV-HDV coinfection (13% of 8 cases, p<0.05). We observed a higher prevalence of HCV-RNA positive cases in the patients with HCV infection alone (91.2% of 114 cases) than in those with HBV-HCV coinfection (64.5% of 62 cases, p<0.0001) or with HBV-HDV-HCV infection (19% of 21 cases, p<0.0001). These observations suggest a reciprocal inhibition of HBV and HCV genome in multiple hepatitis viral infection. A severe liver disease was more frequently observed in patients with HBV-HCV coinfection (66%) than in those with a single HBV infection (43%, p<0.05) or HCV infection (46%, p<0.05). Anti-HCV positive/anti-HBc positive patients, lacking both HBsAg and anti-HBs, compared with the anti-HCV positive/anti HBc negative ones, more frequently showed severe clinical presentation and less frequently had a sustained response to a-IFN treatment.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Malattie Infettive, Facolta di Medicina e Chirurgia, Seconda Universita degli Studi di Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: E.
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sagnelli
authors.forename: N.
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Coppola
authors.forename: C.
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Scolastico
authors.forename: P.
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Filippini
authors.forename: F.
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Piccinino