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Measuring Frailty in HIV-infected Individuals. Identification of Frail Patients is the First Step to Amelioration and Reversal of Frailty
Published on: July 24, 2013
Fatigue in patients with chronic hepatitis C.
T Poynard1, P Cacoub, V Ratziu
1Departments of Hepatogastroenterology, Hôpital La Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France. tpoynard@teaser.fr
Journal of Viral Hepatitis
|June 26, 2002
Summary
Fatigue is a common symptom in patients with Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection, affecting over half of those studied. This common extrahepatic manifestation is linked to specific patient demographics and other symptoms.
Area of Science:
- Hepatology
- Clinical Medicine
- Immunology
Background:
- Chronic Hepatitis C (HCV) infection is associated with various symptoms.
- Systematic assessment of fatigue and extrahepatic manifestations in HCV patients is lacking.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of fatigue in HCV-infected patients.
- To identify associations between fatigue and hepatic/extrahepatic manifestations.
Main Methods:
- Prospective study of 1614 HCV patients.
- Data collection on fatigue, extrahepatic symptoms, and clinical/biological factors.
- Multivariate analysis to identify associated factors.
Main Results:
- Fatigue present in 53% of patients; severe fatigue in 17%.
- Arthralgia, paresthesia, myalgia, pruritus, and sicca syndrome were common extrahepatic manifestations.
- Fatigue associated with female gender, age >50, cirrhosis, depression, purpura, arthralgia, myalgia, paresthesia, sicca syndrome, and pruritus.
Conclusions:
- Fatigue is the most frequent extrahepatic manifestation in HCV patients.
- Independent factors associated with fatigue include female gender, age >50, cirrhosis, depression, and purpura.
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