Patient characteristics
| HCV RNA(+) | HCV RNA(−)* | Healthy controls | HBV DNA(+) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| *Following antiviral therapy. | ||||
| †Number of cases (number/total in %). | ||||
| ‡Value are mean (range). | ||||
| §Values are median (range). | ||||
| ¶NA, not analysed. | ||||
| **ND indicates <200 000 copies/ml. | ||||
| HCV, hepatitis C virus; HBV, hepatitis B virus; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; γ-GT, γ glutamyl transferase. | ||||
| No | 30 | 10 | 10 | 9 |
| Female sex† | 7 (23.3%) | 3 (30%) | 6 (60%) | 1 (11.1%) |
| Age (y)‡ | 46.1 (26–66) | 40.8 (23–62) | 30.8 (24–37) | 35.6 (21–45) |
| Risk factors | ||||
| Iv drugs† | 5 (16.6%) | 3 (30%) | – | 2 (22.2%) |
| Blood transfusion† | 3 (10.0%) | 1 (10%) | – | 1 (11.1%) |
| Sexual† | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | – | 1 (11.1%) |
| Haemophilia† | 0 (0%) | 1 (10%) | – | 1 (11.1%) |
| Needle stick injury† | 4 (13.4%) | 0 (0%) | – | – |
| Unknown† | 18 (60%) | 5 (50%) | – | 4 (44.4%) |
| Clinical data | ||||
| ALT (U/l)§ | 81.0 (34–203) | 40.0 (18–104) | NA¶ | 46 (30–92) |
| γ-GT (U/l)§ | 79.0 (21–414) | 42 (21–57) | NA | 43 (18–202) |
| HCV status | ||||
| HCV load (×106 copies/ml)‡ | 2.8 (ND–43.0)** | – | – | – |
| HCV genotype | ||||
| Genotype 1† | 13 (43.3%) | 4 (40.0%) | – | – |
| Genotype 2† | 3 (10%) | 1 (10.0%) | – | – |
| Genotype 3† | 1 (3.3%) | 4 (40) | – | – |
| Genotype 4† | 0 | 0 | – | – |
| Multiple | 0 | 0 | – | – |
| Undetermined genotype† | 13 (43.3%) | 1 (10.0%) | – | – |
| HBV status | ||||
| HBV load (×103 copies/ml) | – | – | 19.8 (3.1–410) | |