Background: Previous trials have investigated the effect of hepatitis C
on lung functions; however, the role of viral load levels is unclear.
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of HCV viremia
status on lung functions. Methods: This study was in 60 patients with
chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Patients were classified into three groups
(non-viremic, low-viremic and high-viremic) based on serum HCV RNA
levels. Spirometric parameters (FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC) and the proportion
of patients with spirometric abnormalities were compared between three
groups. Results: High-viremic and low-viremic patients showed a
significantly higher prevalance of spirometric abnormality than
observed in non-viremic patients (p=0.02). Moreover, there was a
significant moderate correlation between viremia level and the
percentage of spirometric abnormalities (Cramer\u2019s U value=0.452,
p=0.002). High-viremic patients were 14.2 times more likely to
exhibiting pulmonary dysfunction than non-viremic patients.
Additionally, spirometric parameters FEV1 and FVC were significantly
reduced in high-viremic and low-viremic patients compared to those in
non-viremic patients (p=0.013 and p<0.001 respectively). Conclusion:
These results indicate that persistent HCV infection may be associated
with reduced pulmonary functions, especially in patients with high
viremia levels. Therefore, these patients should be carefully monitored
for lung function. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ahs.v19i2.21 Cite
as: Bal T, Onlen Y, Babayigit C, Yumer Y, Sahin SI. The impact of
hepatitis C viremia status on lung functions in hronic hepatitis C
patients. Afri Health Sci.2019;19(2): 1988-1992.
https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ahs.v19i2.2