Factors Affecting Serum Concentrations of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) RNA in HCV Genotype 1-Infected Patients with Chronic Hepatitis
The serum concentration of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA is usually stable (4 to 8 log₁₀ IU/ml) in untreated patients with chronic hepatitis C. While this baseline HCV RNA concentration ([HCV RNA]BL) is predictive of a sustained virologic response to treatment, its determinants are only partially iden...
Saved in:
Published in | Journal of Clinical Microbiology Vol. 45; no. 8; pp. 2426 - 2433 |
---|---|
Main Authors | , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Washington, DC
American Society for Microbiology
01.08.2007
|
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
Cover
Loading…
Summary: | The serum concentration of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA is usually stable (4 to 8 log₁₀ IU/ml) in untreated patients with chronic hepatitis C. While this baseline HCV RNA concentration ([HCV RNA]BL) is predictive of a sustained virologic response to treatment, its determinants are only partially identified. We therefore analyzed the baseline characteristics of 2,472 HCV genotype 1-infected patients to identify correlations with gender, age, race, weight, body mass index (BMI), HCV acquisition mode, HCV subtype, alanine aminotransferase concentration, or histopathologic changes in the liver. After separation of the data according to four [HCV RNA]BL groups (<=5.0, >5.0 to 5.6, >5.6 to 5.9, and >5.9 log₁₀ IU/ml), we determined that increasing [HCV RNA]BL correlated (P < 0.05) with increasing proportions of patients who were male, >40 years of age, or heavier (a weight of >85 kg or a BMI of >27 kg/m²). Histologic activity index (HAI) data were available for 1,304 of these patients: increasing [HCV RNA]BL correlated with higher fibrosis and necrosis-inflammation scores. As a continuous variable, [HCV RNA]BL correlated with age, gender, weight (continuous or <=85 versus >85 kg), BMI (continuous or <=27 versus >27 kg/m²), subtype, fibrosis score, and necrosis-inflammation score; however, multiple-regression analysis yielded P values of <0.1 only for age, gender, BMI (<=27 versus >27 kg/m²), and fibrosis score. While our findings are suggestive of a role for these factors in maintenance of the pretreatment state of HCV infection, the multiple-regression model accounted for only <=4.6% of the [HCV RNA]BL differences between individuals (R² = 0.046 for 1,304 patients with HAI scores; 0.043 for all 2,472 patients). |
---|---|
Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 Corresponding author. Mailing address: Clinical Laboratories, Department of Pathology, Room A102, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, 4940 Eastern Ave., Baltimore, MD 21224. Phone: (410) 550-0648. Fax: (410) 550-2109. E-mail: jticehur@jhmi.edu |
ISSN: | 0095-1137 1098-660X 1098-5530 |
DOI: | 10.1128/JCM.02448-06 |