Correlations Between METAVIR Staging, the Viral Load and Alanine Aminotransferase Levels in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C, Before and after 12 Weeks of Antiviral Treatment

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 170 million individuals worldwide are infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). The aim of study was to evaluate possible correlations between METAVIR staging, the viral loads and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels in patients with chronic hepatitis C, before and after 12 weeks of treatment with PegInterferon alpha 2a/alpha 2b and Ribavirin. 93 consecutive patients with hepatitis C, were included in this study. The parameters followed were age, sex, Metavir histologic staging at the start of the treatment, hepatitis C virus ribonucleic acid (HCV-RNA) and ALT at start and after 12 weeks of treatment, as well as alcohol intake. The study group was composed by 58 women and 35 men, with a mean age of 44.47 +/- 11.17 years. At the beginning of the treatment, the mean value of HCV-RNA was 1327163 +/- 145001 UI/mL, with a CI95%= 1327163 +/- 287986.36 UI/mL, and the mean value for ALT was 112.7124 +/- 68.7403 U/l. After 12 weeks of therapy, significant differences were found concerning both HCV-RNA and ALT values. HCV-RNA lowered to a mean value of 457.3978 +/- 402.653 (p< 0.0001), while ALT lowered to a mean value of 37.90 +/- 16.43U/l (p< 0.0001). Neither the initial HCV-RNA nor ALT values had any correlations with the METAVIR histological staging of the fibrosis. Initial ALT was higher in those with alcohol intake (p= 0.000048). The ALT values instead, after 3 months of treatment, decreased significantly (p< 0.0001), did correlate with the METAVIR groups (p= 0.0019). The evolutionary stage of fibrosis didn't correlate with gender of the patients or initial values of the HCV-RNA or ALT. There was no correlation between the age/gender of the patients and the determined METAVIR score.