Turkish Journal of Gastroenterology, vol.9, no.3, pp.208-212, 1998 (SCI-Expanded)
The clinical features of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and the distribution of HCV genotypes in 86 patients with chronic non-A, non-B (NANB) liver disease were examined in this study. The HCV infection was diagnosed using anti-HCV testing, and by the detection of HCV RNA by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). HCV genotypes were determined in 27 of HCV RNA positive patients by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of PCR products. HCV RNA was detected in the serum of 62 out of 86 (72.1%) patients on PCR while 68 out of 81 (84%) patients were positive for anti-HCV. PCR and anti-HCV results were concordant in 60 out of 81 (74.1%) patients. Patients with HCV RNA in serum were indistinguishable from those without HCV RNA in serum apart from serum ALT and total bilirubin levels (P<0.05). The most common genotype was HCV 1b (81.5 %). Other genotypes detected were 1a (14.8 %) and 4 (3.7 %). HCV infection is the major cause of chronic non-A, non-B (NANB) liver disease and HCV 1b is the predominant genotype.