Longitudinal long-term follow-up study of children with vertically acquired hepatitis C virus infection

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Hepatology
• Viral Hepatitis Research
• Infectious Diseases in Children

Background:

• Vertical transmission of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) is a significant concern in pediatric populations.
• Long-term outcomes and disease progression in children with vertically acquired HCV remain incompletely understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the long-term clinical course and histopathological findings in children with vertically acquired HCV infection.
• To assess the impact of viral load and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels on liver disease progression in this cohort.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal follow-up of 17 children with vertically acquired HCV infection from birth (mean 104 months).
• Monitoring of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels and HCV polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for viral detection.
• Liver biopsy in seven children to assess histopathological features of liver involvement.

Main Results:

• Elevated ALT levels were observed at 3 and 6 months, stabilizing thereafter.
• HCV RNA was detected in most patients at 3 months, with one positive at 12 months; viral load remained stable.
• Mild chronic hepatitis was the predominant finding in liver biopsies (6/7 children).

Conclusions:

• Vertically acquired HCV infection in children generally follows a benign clinical course.
• Persistent viremia and altered ALT levels do not necessarily correlate with severe liver disease in pediatric HCV.
• HCV genotype did not appear to influence the type of liver involvement observed.