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Gut 1998 Jan;42(1):103-106
Hepatic histology in Hepatitis C virus carriers
coinfected with Hepatitis G virus.
Petrik J, Guella L, Wight DG, Pearson GM, Hinton J, Parker H, Allain
JP, Alexander GJ
Division of Transfusion Medicine, University of Cambridge School
of Clinical Medicine, Addenbrooke's NHS Trust, UK.
BACKGROUND:
A novel flavivirus has been described recently and designated Hepatitis
G virus (HGV). The virus is transmitted by the parenteral route
but it is uncertain whether it is associated with chronic liver
disease because liver biopsy is difficult to justify in this group.
AIMS:
To examine histological features of liver biopsy in patients infected
with Hepatitis C virus (HCV) according to the presence or absence
of HCV and HGV RNA.
METHODS:
One hundred and thirty one consecutive HCV carriers undergoing
staging liver biopsy were studied retrospectively. In each, HCV
RNA and HGV RNA were detected by reverse transcription polymerase
chain reaction on serum samples collected at the time of biopsy.
The presence of each RNA was correlated with histological features
blind to the RNA results; individual histological features of inflammation
or fibrosis were scored separately.
RESULTS:
Nineteen patients were positive for both HGV and HCV RNA in serum,
91 were positive for HCV RNA alone, two were positive for HGV RNA
alone, and 19 were negative for both RNA species. Neither age nor
sex differed between the groups; a greater proportion of intravenous
drug users were HGV RNA positive, but this was not statistically
significant. There was no effect of HGV coinfection on the stage
of fibrosis or any other histological parameter except steatosis;
patients with HCV and HGV RNA had a higher mean score for at than
those patients with HCV RNA alone (p  0.05).
CONCLUSIONS:
HGV coinfection has no important effects on histological features
in chronic HCV carriers. It is unlikely that HGV infection causes
chronic liver disease. PMID: 9505894, UI: 98166793 < 0.05).
PMID: 9505894, UI: 98166793
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