Premium
The Influence of C‐Hepatitis on C‐Reactive Protein in a Cohort of Brazilian Hemodialysis Patients
Author(s) -
Nascimento M.M.,
Bruchfeld A.,
Suliman M.E.,
Hayashi S.Y.,
PecoitsFilho R.,
Manfro R.C.,
Pachaly M.A.,
Renner L.,
Stenvinkel P.,
Riella M.C.,
Lindholm B.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
hemodialysis international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.658
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1542-4758
pISSN - 1492-7535
DOI - 10.1111/j.1492-7535.2004.0085bj.x
Subject(s) - medicine , gastroenterology , hemodialysis , c reactive protein , albumin , hepatitis c , hepatitis c virus , cohort , systemic inflammation , inflammation , immunology , virus
Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of HCV on two markers of systemic inflammation, serum CRP, and interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) in HD patients. Methods: The study included 118 HD patients (47% males, age 47 ± 13 years, 9% diabetics) who were treated by on standard HD for at least 6 months. The patients were divided in two groups, depending on the presence (HCV+) or absence (HCV–) of serum antibodies against HCV. Serum albumin (S‐Alb), plasma high sensitivity CRP (hsCRP), IL‐6, and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were measured, and the values were compared with 22 healthy controls. Results: The median of hsCRP, IL‐6, and the hsCRP/IL‐6 ratio were: 3.5 vs. 2.1 mg/L, p < 0.05; 4.3 vs. 0.9 pg/mL, p < 0.0001; and 0.8 vs. 2.7 pg/mL, p < 0.0001 for patients and controls, respectively. Age, gender, S‐Alb, IL‐6, and hsCRP did not differ between the HCV+ and HCV– patients. However, HCV+ patients had higher ALT (29 ± 21 vs. 21 ± 25 UI/L) and had been a longer time on HD (6.1 ± 3.0 vs. 4.0 ± 2.0 years) (p < 0.0001), respectively. Moreover, HCV+ patients had a significantly lower median hsCRP/IL‐6 ratio (0.7 vs. 0.9; p < 0.05) as compared to the HCV group. Conclusion: The finding that the hsCRP/IL‐6 ratio was lower in HCV+ patients than in HCV– patients suggests that hsCRP may be a less useful marker of inflammation in HCV+ patients and that a different cut‐off value for hsCRP may be required to define inflammation in HD patients.