Hepatitis C virus infection and its impact on Liver function in chronic HCV patients.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a blood-borne virus whose target organ is the liver. It causes both acute and chronic hepatitis, acute infection becomes chronic in approximately 80% of cases, and patients with chronic hepatitis C areat high risk of life-threatening complications, including cirrhosis in 20% of cases and hepatocellular carcinoma at an incidenceof 4–5% per year in cirrhotic patients. Virological testing has become essential in the management of HCV infection in order to diagnose infection, and most importantly guide treatment decisions and assess the virological response to antiviral therapy. Thus, the aim of presenting work was to investigate the relationship between the viral load and Liver biochemical/function testing according to the results of the laboratory tests.To achieve that aim, 20 chronic hepatitis C patients, enrolled from National Institute of Liver Disease Shebeen EL Koom Menofyia Governorate, Egypt. Blood samples were collected for different analysis including serological test by ELISA and molecular assays by qualitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR), also a routine lab test for measuring liver function test has been done. All patients included in our study were positive for anti-HCV antibody by ELISA test and were positive for the presence of HCV-RNA which detected by PCR. In conclusion, there is no significant variance between liver enzymes function and viral load. Data analysis for detecting HCV was an important factor for understanding the epidemiology and treatment strategies of HCV among Egyptian patients.