Acta Medica Medianae (Sep 2010)
HIGH SENSITIVITY C-REACTIVE PROTEIN AS PREDICTION FACTOR OF DISEASE PROGRESSION IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC HEPATITIS C AND MILD LIVER STEATOSIS
Abstract
Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) is a major cause of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Steatosis occurs in almost 50% of patients with CHC, who make a faster progression to cirrhosis. The "atypical " patients are registred too, with normal values of blood sugar, cholesterol, triglycerides, BMI, body weight having non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and CHC. The hsCRP levels rise before and simultaneously with the chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis progression, therefore, it is a useful prognostic parameter. According to our knowledge, there are no sufficient data concerning hsCRP concentrations in CHC patients, although it predicts or detects different grades of cirrhosis. For that reason, the aim of our research was to assess the hsCRP in patients with CHC.The investigation involved 45 patients (28 males and 17 females), mean age 41±15 years, with CHC, without any accompanying disease. The control group consisted of 45 healthy volunteers (22 males, 23 females), mean age 34±10 years. The CHC patients' group was divided into two subgroups, the first, which consisted of 23 patients with evidenced histological signs of mild steatosis, and the second one, comprising 22 patients without the mentioned signs; hsCRP concentrations were measured in each patients' (sub)group.The findings indicate that the hsCRP value had a statistically significant increase in the CHC patients' group compared to the control group (p<0.05). In the CHC and mild liver steatosis patients subgroup, even more statistically significant hsCRP increase occured compared to the other subgroup (p<0.001).It can be concluded, based on the acquired results, that hsCRP should be considered as a CHC progression prognostic factor, in order to make a well-timed and special therapeutic approach to the CHC individuals even more prone to the disease progression.
