Frequency of Hepatitis C Virus Infection and Estimation of Serum Alanine Aminotransferase in HCV Positive Patients

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has emerged as a leading cause of chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma worldwide. Hepatitis C is rapidly emerging as a major health problem in developing countries including Pakistan. Serum Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT) is the most frequently utilized screening test in routine evaluation of liver damage. This study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus infection and its association with serum alanine aminotransferase. Objective: Determination of the seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus infection and its association with serum alanine aminotransferase in patients at social security hospital, Islamabad. Material and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted at clinical laboratory of social security hospital Islamabad, from May 2009 to October 2009. All samples referred to social security hospital for hepatitis profile were included in the study. All patients were screened serologically for hepatitis C virus antibodies and serum alanine aminotransferase was determined in selected HCV positive patients only. Results: Out of 1006 blood samples 146 were positive for anti-HCV antibodies with an overall positivity of 14.5%. Out of these 55% cases were males and 45% were females. Seroprevalence of HCV was found to be 8% in the age group of <20 years, and almost equal i.e. 46% and 49% in 20-40 years and >40 years age groups respectively. Serum ALT was determined in total 83 patients only: they showed levels less than 30U/L in 25% patients, 30-45U/L in 15% patients, 46-60U/L in 19% patients, 61-100U/L in 29% patients and more than 100U/L in 12% patients. Conclusion: The present study revealed that prevalence of HCV was 14.5% and ALT levels were found to be more than 45U/L in 75% of the anti HCV positive cases, showing the significance of this biochemical marker as diagnostic tool in such patients. Introduction Hepatitis C is rapidly emerging as a major health problem in developing countries including Pakistan. It is estimated that 3–4 million people are infected with HCV each year. Some 130–170 million people are chronically infected with HCV and at risk of developing liver cirrhosis and/or liver cancer. More than 350,000 people die from HCV-related liver diseases each year. Countries with high rates of chronic infection are Egypt (22%), Pakistan (4.8%) and China (3.2%). In Pakistan 10 million people are presumed to be infected with HCV. 7, 8 Seroprevalence studies of anti-HCV antibodies in the general population of Pakistan have been recorded as 5.31% to 7.5%. Serum Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT) is the most frequently utilized screening test in routine evaluation of liver damage. 13 ALT is most concentrated in liver and released into the bloodstream as the result of liver injury. It, therefore, serves as a fairly specific indicator of liver status. However, there are conflicting reports on the relationship between the biochemical markers of inflammation and ALT. Hence this study was designed with an aim to determine the seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus infection and its association with serum alanine aminotransferase in our population. Material and Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted at clinical laboratory of Social security Hospital Islamabad, for a period of six months from May 2009 to October 2009. All blood samples referred for HCV profile were checked for anti HCV. Serum alanine aminotransferase was tested in those patients who were found positive for anti HCV. Samples were subjected to serological analysis for anti-HCV antibodies using rapid immune chromatography kits (ICT, Australia and Abbott, USA) and positive samples were confirmed by ELISA (IMX, Abbott, USA). ALT was performed by standard biochemical method on Microlab. Results were entered on SPSS version 14 for final analysis. Journal of Islamabad Medical & Dental College (JIMDC); 1211(1):30-32