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Hemopoetic organs damage syndrome in patients with chronic viral hepatitis
Insights
Hematological disorders are common in chronic hepatitis C, even outside the liver. The severity of these blood cell abnormalities does not always correlate with liver damage or disease activity.
Area of Science:
- Hepatology
- Hematology
- Virology
Background:
- Chronic hepatitis C (HCV) can lead to severe complications like liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.
- Emerging evidence suggests HCV may persist and replicate in organs beyond the liver.
- Understanding extrahepatic manifestations is crucial for comprehensive patient management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate hematological disorders in patients with chronic hepatitis C and co-infection with hepatitis B (HBV).
- To explore the correlation between chronic hepatitis activity, cirrhosis stage, and the extent of hematological abnormalities.
- To assess the degree of extrahepatic hematological disorders in relation to liver damage.
Main Methods:
- Studied 77 patients with HCV-induced cirrhosis and 36 patients with chronic hepatitis C or C+B hepatitis.
- Erythrocyte morphology analyzed via light microscopy.
- Erythrocyte osmotic resistance assessed using the Ianovski method (Ribiera modification).
- Platelet adhesion and aggregation evaluated using Rite's method.
- Absolute platelet counts determined by phase-contrast microscopy.
Main Results:
- Hematological disorders were observed in patients with chronic hepatitis C and cirrhosis.
- No absolute correlation was found between the activity of chronic hepatitis C and the degree of hematological disorders.
- Extrahepatic hematological disorders were often more pronounced than the extent of liver damage.
Conclusions:
- Hematological abnormalities are a significant feature of chronic hepatitis C, extending beyond hepatic involvement.
- The degree of liver damage does not consistently predict the severity of associated blood disorders.
- Further research into the mechanisms and clinical implications of these extrahepatic manifestations is warranted.
Abstract:
Liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma are the most frequent and severe complications of chronic hepatitis C. Results of recent investigations indicate that HCV persists and replicates not only in hepatic tissue, but in the other organs as well. The goal of our investigation was to determine hematological disorders during chronic HCV and HCV+HBV hepatitis, to find correlation between activity of chronic hepatitis, stage of cirrhosis, and degree of hematological disorders. We have studied patients with chronic C and B+C hepatitis (36 persons) and 77 HCV-infected persons on the stage of cirrhosis. The erythrocytes morphology was investigated using light microscope. The osmotic resistance of erythrocytes was investigated using the method of Ianovski (modification of Ribiera); the thrombocytes' ability to adhere and aggregate was studied by Rite's method. The absolute number of thrombocytes was counted by means of phase-contrast microscope. Our investigation suggests that there is no absolute correlation between chronic hepatitis C activity and hematological disorders and often the degree of extrahepatocellular disorders is higher than the degree of liver damage.
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