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Clinical epidemiology of acute hepatitis C in South America
Author(s) -
Dirchwolf Melisa,
Marciano Sebastián,
Mauro Ezequiel,
Ruf Andrés Eduardo,
Rezzonico Lucrecia,
Anders Margarita,
Chiodi Daniela,
Petta Néstor Gill,
Borzi Silvia,
Tanno Federico,
Ridruejo Ezequiel,
Barreyro Fernando,
Shulman Carolina,
Plaza Pablo,
Carbonetti Rodolfo,
Tadey Luciana,
Schroder Teresa,
Fainboim Hugo
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of medical virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9071
pISSN - 0146-6615
DOI - 10.1002/jmv.24588
Subject(s) - medicine , cohort , epidemiology , hepatology , retrospective cohort study , hepatitis c , viremia , cohort study , transmission (telecommunications) , pediatrics , immunology , virus , electrical engineering , engineering
There is scarce data pertaining to acute hepatitis C (aHC) infection in South America. We aimed to describe clinical characteristics and evolution of aHC in a South American cohort. A retrospective survey was conducted at 13 hepatology units. All patients ≥16 years old with aHC diagnosis were included. Demographic, clinical and outcome information were registered in a standardized ad hoc questionnaire. Sixty‐four patients were included. The majority were middle‐aged (median age: 46 years) and female (65.6%); most of them were symptomatic at diagnosis (79.6%). HCV‐1 was the most prevalent genotype (69.2%). Five patients had liver failure: three cases of severe acute hepatitis, one case of fulminant hepatitis and one case of acute‐on‐chronic liver failure. Nosocomial exposure was the most prevalent risk factor. Evolution was assessed in 46 patients. In the untreated cohort, spontaneous resolution occurred in 45.8% and was associated with higher values of AST/ALT and with the absence of intermittent HCV RNA viremia ( P = 0.01, 0.05, and 0.01, respectively). In the treated cohort, sustained virological response was associated with nosocomial transmission and early treatment initiation ( P = 0.04 each). The prevalence of nosocomial transmission in this South‐American cohort of aHC stresses the importance of following universal precautions to prevent HCV infection. J. Med. Virol. 89:276–283, 2017 . © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.