[An eight-year prospective study on 163 cases of hepatitis C]

To explore the characteristics of hepatitis C in China, one hundred and sixty three cases of hepatitis C were followed for 8 years. The rates of abnormal alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were 100%, 73%, 57%, 37% and 28% in less than one, 1, 2, 5 and 8 years after the onset respectively. Abnormality of ALT might be persistent or fluctuating, and the latter type accounted for about 1/3 to 1/2 of the cases. The positive rates of anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) were 56%, 93%, 94%, 96%, 97%, 93% and 83% in less than two, 2-6, 7-12 months and 1, 2, 5 and 8 years after the onset respectively. Negative conversion of anti-HCV was found only in a few patients whose ALT had returned to normal level and the rates of negative conversion for them were 10%, 8%, 16%, and 22% in 1, 2, 5 and 8 years after the onset. Positive rate of HCV-RNA, detected with nested PCR 8 years after the onset was 84% for patients who still showed positive anti-HCV and there was no significant difference between patients with abnormal (80%) and normal ALT (85%) levels. Genotype II accounted for 93% of the cases. No patient developed hepatocellular carcinoma or decompensated cirrhosis after a follow-up of eight years.