[A clinico-pathological analysis of HCV infection in post-liver transplantation patients].
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the pathological characteristics of HCV infection after liver transplantation.


METHODS
This is a retrospective analysis of the clinico-pathological changes of 73 liver biopsies obtained from 61 patients who had HCV infection (including HCV recurrence and reinfection) after liver transplantation in our center from September 2000 to September 2006.


RESULTS
Abnormal enzyme test results due to HCV infection happened on the 9th to the 1553rd post-transplantation surgery day. The serum HCV RNA level was higher than 10(5) copies/ml in 19 cases and between 10(2)-10(5) copies/ml in the other 42 cases. The histological changes in the transplanted livers were hepatocellular degeneration, necrosis and apoptosis, portal infiltrations and fibrosis. They were classified into two stages (early stage and late stage) according to the onset of fibrosis which appeared within 90 days or later after their transplantation in our study. The incidence of predominant portal infiltrates and liver fibrosis in early stage and late stage was 5.7% (2/35) and 94.7% (36/38) (chi2=54.34, P<0.01) and 2.9% (1/35) and 97.4% (37/38) (chi2=61.47, P<0.01) respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
Pathological features of early stage and late stage hepatitis C infection in transplanted livers are different and they are also different from that in native livers. Liver biopsies are important in clinical staging, evaluation of the severity, and differential diagnosis of post-transplantation HCV infection.
Li
Hui
H
Orient Organ Transplantation Center, First Central Hospital of Tianjin, Tianjin 300192, China. h_lee1234@sina.com.cn
Wang
Zheng-lu
ZL
Zhang
Shu-ying
SY
Cai
Wen-juan
WJ
Shen
Zhong-yang
ZY
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012367:RNA, Viral; D012189:Retrospective Studies
D012367:RNA, Viral