title: Hepatitis C virus infection in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study is to evaluate the role of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC).
  
  
  METHODS
  On the basis of a retrospective review of medical records, all patients consecutively diagnosed with PBC or HCV infection between 1999 and 2011 and who had a regular follow-up of at least 3 years were included in the study. Clinical characteristics, especially the severity of cirrhosis, were analyzed in PBC patients with HCV infection (PBC-HCV), PBC patients without HCV infection (PBC-only), and patients with only HCV infection (HCV-only).
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 76 patients with PBC, including 9 patients with HCV infection, were analyzed. Of the PBC-HCV patients, 7 (7/9, 77.8%) were women with a mean age of 55.11 ± 14.29 years. Age- and sex-matched PBC-only patients (n = 36) and HCV-only patients (n = 36) were used as control groups. In comparison to the PBC-only controls, PBC-HCV patients had a greater severity of cirrhosis based on Child-Pugh (p = 0.019) and Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) (p = 0.01) scores. However, no significant difference in the severity of cirrhosis was found between the PBC-HCV and HCV-only control patients (p = 0.94 in Child-Pugh scores; p = 0.64 in MELD scores).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In PBC patients with concomitant HCV infection, aggressive management may be warranted in view of the associated more severe liver cirrhosis.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hsuan-Wei
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Hsin-Hung
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Ching-Huang
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Wei-En
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Yu-Lueng
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Shih
authors.forename: Wei-Kuo
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Tsai-Yuan
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Hsieh
authors.forename: Heng-Cheng
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Chu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D008105:Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index