HCV Ab titer and ALT level indicate occult hepatitis C virus infection in treatment-naive HCV Ab-positive and HCV Ab-negative patients: a 3-year prospective cohort study.

ABSTRACT: The phenotype of occult hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection (OCI) in anti-HCV treatment-naive patients remains elusive. A prospective 3-year cohort study of 218 anti-HCV treatment-naive patients was conducted. OCI was defined as positive HCV RNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of patients with negative serum HCV RNA. Among the 128 HCV antibody (Ab)-positive patients, 15 (11.7%) had OCI; higher HCV Ab titers were noted in patients with OCI than in those without OCI (84.25 ± 64.76 vs 46.60 ± 46.07 ng/mL, P = 0.006), and the HCV Ab titer was a marker of OCI (cutoff: >53.2 ng/mL). The 3-year cumulative incidence (CI) of cardiovascular events was greater in patients with OCI than in those without OCI (84% vs 46.4%, P = 0.043). Among the 90 HCV Ab-negative patients, 5 (

SUBMITTER: Chang M-L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12323646 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature