Hepatitis C Virus Infection as a provocative agent for cutaneous vasculitis

Background: Several patients with chronic hepatitis C infection and cutaneous vasculitis have been described. Objective: This work was done to detect if there is an association between cutaneous vasculitis and HCV infection and to detect how far HCV is an elective agent for cutaneous vasculitis. Methods: The study included 20 patients with cutaneous vasculitis (group ?) and 30 patients with HCV infection (group ??). Histopathological examination was done for biopsies taken from cutaneous vasculitic lesions and were stained with haematoxylin & eosin (H&E) and Periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) stain. Liver function tests of the patients were assessed Also, detection of HCV antibodies was done by using electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. Results: Of the 20 patients with cutaneous vasculitis included in this study, Anti-HCV antibodies were detected in 12 patients (60%). On the other hand, of the 30 patients with hepatitis C infection included in group 2 of this study, 2 patients with cutaneous vasculitis were identified (6.6 %). However, there was no significant difference as regard Liver function tests and histopathology between HCV positive and negative cases. Conclusion: This study showed that the presence of cutaneous vasculitis should suggest that a hepatitis C virus may be a possible etiological or provocative agent..