TRANSMISSION ROUTES AND CLINICAL COURSES IN SPORADIC ACUTE HEPATITIS-C

Between March 1994 and March 1996 we studied transmission routes and c linical courses in eight patients with sporadic acute hepatitis C (two men, six women), Of the eight patients, three were treated for anothe r illness 1-2 months before the onset of hepatitis, one was a parenter al drug abuser, one had an accidental needlestick injury and two had s exual contact with a partner with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infe ction. Clinical courses included four women whose HCV RNA and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) became persistently negative without treatment, and four men and two women with the same results following interferon (IFN) treatment, It is thought that IFN therapy may prevent the progr ession to chronic liver disease. Results from this study might be usef ul in the future management of patients with sporadic acute hepatitis C.