Prevalence and clinical features of skin diseases in chronic HCV infection. A prospective study in 96 patients

Between extra-hepatic manifestations of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection particular interest is focused on some dermatological diseases such as: leukocytoclastic vasculitis, oral lichen planus, pruritus-urticaria, psoriasis, etc. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of some dermato...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPanminerva medica Vol. 44; no. 4; p. 349
Main Authors Paoletti, V, Mammarella, A, Basili, S, Paradiso, M, Di Franco, M, De Matteis, A, Musca, A
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Italy 01.12.2002
Subjects
Aged
Female
Hepatitis C, Chronic - complications
Humans
Italy - epidemiology
Male
Middle Aged
Prevalence
Prospective Studies
Skin Diseases - epidemiology
Skin Diseases - physiopathology
Skin Diseases - virology
Italy
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Summary:Between extra-hepatic manifestations of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection particular interest is focused on some dermatological diseases such as: leukocytoclastic vasculitis, oral lichen planus, pruritus-urticaria, psoriasis, etc. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of some dermatoses in our population of patients with HCV infection and describe the more characteristics clinical pictures. Ninety-six patients (36 men and 60 women) aged from 35 to 74 years with HCV documented by 3rd generation ELISA and RIBA tests were prospectively examined for 3 years to determine the prevalence of some skin disorders, reported as associated with HCV infection. All patients were also studied for presence and quantification of HCV-RNA by polymerase chain reaction and genotyping when possible. Eighty-one underwent a liver biopsy. Routine laboratory tests and some immunological investigations (ANA, AMA, SMA, LKM, ANCA, ICC, crioglobulins) were performed using standard procedures and indirect immunofluorescence, nephelometric, RIA methods. Twelve of 96 patients (12.5%) presented skin disorders in progress of chronic virus C hepatitis: 5 cases of leukocytoclastic vasculitis (LCV) by mixed cryoglobulinemia, 1 case of pruritus, 2 cases of oral lichen planus (OLP), 2 cases of alopecia areata, 1 case of urticaria, 1 case of psoriasis. Our findings show a calculated prevalence of clinical dermatoses in HCV infected patients around 12.5%. These findings confirm however the importance of liver examination in presence of skin diseases not related to other pathogenetic mechanisms.
ISSN:0031-0808