Detection of Frequency of Hepatitis C Patients with Fatty Liver and Impact of Interferon on Fatty Liver Improvement

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is one of the most common causes of chronic liver disease affecting approximately 130 million individuals worldwide, with 20% of these patients potentially progressing to cirrhosis. Currently, standard treatment includes a combination of pegylated interferon and ribavirin with a sustained viral eradication rate of 55%. Aim: To determine the frequency of fatty liver in patients with chronic hepatitis C and also to determine the proportion of subjects with the clearance of fatty liver with standard interferon treatment. Methods: A total of 120 patients were included in this study. Interferon and ribavirin combination therapy was started in the dose of 3 million units subcutaneously thrice a week and 400mg orally thrice a day respectively. Ultrasonography was carried out to differentiate the grades of fatty liver. Results: Mean age of the patients was 36.9 +/- 5.0 years. Out of 120 patients, 49.2% were male and 50.8% were female. Fatty liver was noted in 68 patients (56.7%). Out of these 68 patients, 31 (45.6%) showed grade-II fatty liver and 37 (54.4%) had grade-III fatty liver. Post-treatment fatty liver grades were as follows: 4 patients (5.9%) of grade-I, 36 patient (53.0%) of grade-II, 9 patients (13.2%) of grade-III while clearance of fatty liver was observed in 19 patients (27.9%). Conclusion: It was found that 56.7% of patients with chronic hepatitis C had fatty liver. Patients with hepatic stetosis were more frequently obese and had more severe hepatic fibrosis. Fatty liver clearance was found to be in 27.9% of patients after combination therapy.