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Liver enzyme alterations in HCV-monoinfected and HCV/HIV-coinfected patients

Klaus Langohr1, Arantza Sanvisens, Daniel Fuster

  • 1Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Spain.

The Open AIDS Journal
|March 11, 2009
PubMed

Insights

HIV infection may alter how gender affects liver enzymes in Hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients who inject drugs. This impacts managing chronic Hepatitis C in this population.

Area of Science:

  • Hepatology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a prevalent blood-borne infection.
  • HCV/Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) co-infection is common among injecting drug users (IDUs).
  • Understanding liver enzyme patterns in HCV monoinfection versus HCV/HIV co-infection is crucial for patient management.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze liver transaminases (AST, ALT) in HCV monoinfected and HCV/HIV co-infected patients.
  • To assess the impact of HIV co-infection on liver enzyme elevations in IDUs.
  • To investigate the relationship between demographic factors, HIV status, and liver enzyme levels.

Main Methods:

  • Study included 429 current IDUs admitted to substance abuse treatment.
  • Collected serum samples for liver function tests, HIV, and viral hepatitis serologies.
  • Analyzed associations between liver enzymes (AST/ALT) and patient characteristics (age, gender, CD4/CD8 counts, cholesterol, BMI).

Main Results:

  • 52% of patients were HCV/HIV co-infected; 40.8% were HCV monoinfected.
  • Male gender strongly associated with elevated ALT/AST in HCV monoinfected patients, but not in HCV/HIV co-infected patients.
  • HIV co-infection altered associations between liver enzymes and factors like gender, age, and immune cell counts (CD4/CD8).

Conclusions:

  • HIV co-infection may diminish the influence of gender on liver enzyme levels in HCV-infected IDUs.
  • Observed differences in liver enzyme elevations between groups are clinically significant for managing chronic Hepatitis C in IDUs.
  • These findings highlight the complex interplay between HCV, HIV, and host factors in liver disease progression.
Abstract

Keywords:
Aspartate aminotransferase (AST)HIV/hepatitis C co-infectionalanine aminotransferase (ALT)correlates of hepatic transaminase elevationsinjection drug users.

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