Pakistan Armed Forces Medical Journal (Oct 2018)
FREQUENCY OF NON-ALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER DISEASE IN NEWLY DIAGNOSED CASES OF HEPATITIS C VIRUS INFECTION AND ITS CORRELATION WITH GENOTYPES IN NORMAL WEIGHT PATIENTS
Abstract
Objective: To determine the frequency of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in newly diagnosed cases of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and its association with genotypes in normal weight patients. Study Design: Descriptive cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Departments of internal medicine and diagnostic imaging, Combined Military Hospital Okara, from Oct 2013 to Mar 2014. Material and Methods: We included 211 patients from Okara through consecutive sampling who were found positive for anti HCV antibodies and HCV RNA after informed consent. The sampled patients were evaluated for liver echotexture through ultrasonography and genotype analysis by polymerase chain reaction. Variables were defined qualitatively and quantitatively and frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations were calculated. For the association of ultrasonographic findings with the genotypes, Pearson’s Chi-square or Fischer’s exact tests were applied where appropriate. All the data were analyzed using statistical package for social sciences version 20. A p-value <0.05 was considered significant. Results: The mean age was 32 ± 6 years with a range of 21 ± 47 years. Most (85.3%, n=180) were married. The majority (62.1%, n=131) hailed from the Punjab province and from the age-group of ≤32 years (55.9%, n=118). The findings seen on ultrasonography were normal echotexture in 93 (44.1%), NAFLD in 112 (53.1%), and chronic liver disease in 6 (2.8%) individuals. NAFLD was commonest among HCV RNA genotype 3 positive cases. Conclusion: Fifty-three percent patients with positive HCV RNA had NAFLD identified on ultrasonographic examination. The genotype 3 of HCV RNA was particularly affiliated with NAFLD.
