[Alcoholism and HCV-antibody association. Effects on the course and severity of chronic liver disease]

The authors evaluated the role of the association alcohol-hepatitis C virus on the course and severity of chronic liver disease; they also regard the researches of many authors on this subject.

280 consecutive patients, suffering from chronic liver disease and admitted to the Department of Medical Hydrology of Rome University ''La Sapienza'' are studied. Fifty-nine of them were affected by chronic alcoholic liver disease without evidence of hepatitis virus infection (AC-), 58 were alcoholic and positive for HCV antibody (AC+), 163 positive for HCV antibody and non alcoholic (NAC+). They are divided according to the diagnosis into chronic hepatitics, cirrhotics and those affected with hepatocarcinoma; among them 193 patients, age and sex matched, are evaluated as regards the course and severity or the chronic liver disease.

In the total of 280 patients the hepatic damage arises significantly faster in the alcoholic and anti-HCV positive than in other patients. In the age and sex matched, in alcoholic and HCV positive patients the hepatocarcinoma significantly prevailed (AC-: 8.2%, NAC+: 9.4%, AC+: 19%; p=0.04). The three groups of cirrhotics did not show a significant difference with respect to the severity of the disease evaluated according to Child-Pugh criteria.

Our research confirms the role of the association of HCV virus infection and alcoholism on the severity and impairment of chronic liver disease.