Clinical presentation of GB-C virus infection in drug abusers with chronic hepatitis C.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Recently, the hepatitis GB-C virus (GBV-C) has been identified as another virus potentially causing chronic hepatitis. Although high rates of coinfection are emerging in drug addicts with chronic hepatitis C virus infection, no detailed data on clinical presentation are available. Therefore, co-infection was sought in hepatitis C virus patients to determine the impact of GB-C virus on clinical presentation.

METHODS

GBV-C was determined by nested reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction in serum of 70 HIV negative intravenous drug abusers with chronic hepatitis C. Biochemical, histological and virological parameters were compared between patients with or without GBV-C coinfection.

RESULTS

Hepatitis C virus and GBV-C coinfection was found in 18 of 70 (25.7%) patients. Cases with coinfection were younger and had shorter duration of disease (31.4+/-6.2 vs. 35.3+/-7.3 (p=0.09) and 9.9+/-6.8 vs. 12.9+/-7.7 (p=0.17) years) than those without coinfection. Neither hepatitis C virus genotype distribution and HCV RNA levels nor serum liver function tests, titers of immunoglobulins or autoantibodies differed between the two groups. Histologically, chronic active hepatitis (16.7 vs. 46.4%, p=0.07), fibrosis (8.3% vs. 21.4%, p=0.3), and cirrhosis (0% vs. 8.2%, p=0.31) were less prevalent in coinfected patients. After interferon treatment, 5/6 coinfected and 11/19 patients with hepatitis C virus infection alone had cleared HCV RNA and 4/6 lost GBV-C RNA from serum. The two patients with GBV-C/HCV infection who persistently cleared hepatitis C virus but not GBV-C from serum had normal transaminases during follow-up despite persistence of GBV-C.

CONCLUSIONS

Coinfection of chronic hepatitis C patients with GBV-C does not lead to a significant change in clinical presentation, severity of liver disease, hepatitis C viremia, or response to interferon treatment.