Patient characteristics at baseline
|
Group 1 (n = 23) |
Group 2 (n = 23) |
Group 3 (n = 24) | |
| Age (years) | 50 (14) | 45 (13) | 45 (15) |
| Sex | |||
| Male | 14 (61%) | 15 (65%) | 15 (63%) |
| Female | 9 (39%) | 8 (35%) | 9 (37%) |
| Mode of HCV acquisition | |||
| Transfusion | 9 (39%) | 5 (22%) | 6 (25%) |
| Intravenous drug use | 2 (9%) | 3 (13%) | 2 (8%) |
| Other | 3 (13%) | 3 (13%) | 4 (17%) |
| Unknown | 9 (39%) | 12 (52%) | 12 (50%) |
| Laboratory measures | |||
| Bilirubin (mg/l) | 7 (1) | 8 (2) | 8 (3) |
| ALT (mU/ml) | 164 (102) | 171 (131) | 128 (72) |
| Prothrombin (%) | 92 (11) | 86 (14) | 91 (12) |
| Albumin (g/l) | 40 (4) | 38 (6) | 39 (5) |
| HCV genotypes | |||
| Type 1 | 7 (58%) | 10 (77%) | 8 (62%) |
| Other types | 5 (42%) | 3 (23%) | 5 (38%) |
| Untyped | 11 | 10 | 11 |
| Histological diagnosis | |||
| Chronic hepatitis | 16 (70%) | 17 (74%) | 17 (71%) |
| Cirrhosis | 7 (30%) | 6 (26%) | 7 (29%) |
| Grade score | 5.9 (1.9) | 6.6 (2.2) | 6.3 (2.0) |
| Stage score | 3.7 (1.3) | 3.1 (1.7) | 3.5 (2.0) |
Values are expressed as mean (SD) unless otherwise specified.
No significant differences were observed between groups.
ALT, alanine aminotransferase; HCV, hepatitis C virus.