Hepatic steatosis in chronic hepatitis C virus infection: Prevalence and clinical correlation

Background and Aims: Hepatic steatosis is a histological characteristic in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The aim of this st udy was to evaluate the prevalence of hepatic steatosis in Chinese patients with chronic hepatitis C, and to look for possible correlation with variou s histopathological changes and to look for possible correlation with vario us clinical and pathologic variables. Methods: One hundred and six patients were enrolled, and patients with alco holism or diabetes mellitus were excluded. Clinical, biochemical and virolo gic data, including HCV genotype and serum HCV-RNA titer and histological f indings, were compared between patients with and without hepatic steatosis. Results: Fifty-five (52%) of the 106 patients with chronic hepatitis C had hepatic steatosis. Patients with hepatic steatosis had significantly higher mean serum levels of triglyceride and gamma -glutamyl transpeptidase, high er body mass index, and a higher incidence of obesity compared with patient s without hepatic steatosis. No significant differences in serum HCV-RNA ti ter and HCV genotype or the response to interferon therapy were noted betwe en the two groups. Histological analysis showed patients with hepatic steat osis had a significantly higher mean fibrotic score than patients without h epatic steatosis (1.9 +/- 1.2 vs 1.3 +/- 1.0; P = 0.016). There were no sig nificant differences in the severity of necroinflammation, the presence of lymphoid aggregation/follicle or bile duct damage between the two groups. M ultivariate logistic regression analysis showed that independent predictors associated with hepatic steatosis were obesity or a histology fibrotic sco re of greater than or equal to 2. Conclusion: It was found that 52% of Chinese patients with chronic hepatiti s C had hepatic steatosis. Patients with hepatic steatosis were more freque ntly obese and had more severe hepatic fibrosis. (C) 2001 Blackwell Science Asia Pty Ltd.