Is serum alanine transaminase level a reliable marker of histological disease in chronic hepatitis C infection?

Background: Approximately 20–30% of patients chronically infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) have persistently normal alanine transaminase (PNALT) levels. These patients are described to have a mild degree of histological liver damage. We aimed to assess the histological liver changes in HCV patients with PNALT.

[1]  C. Dai,et al.  Pegylated interferon alpha‐2b plus ribavirin in patients with genotype 4 chronic hepatitis C: Some issues , 2008, Hepatology.

[2]  M. Hashem,et al.  Pegylated interferon alpha‐2b plus ribavirin in patients with genotype 4 chronic hepatitis C: The role of rapid and early virologic response , 2007, Hepatology.

[3]  E. Tsochatzis,et al.  Hepatic Steatosis in Genotype 4 Chronic Hepatitis C Is Mainly Because of Metabolic Factors , 2007, The American Journal of Gastroenterology.

[4]  P. Marcellin,et al.  Review article: management of patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection and ‘normal’ alanine aminotransferase activity , 2006, Alimentary pharmacology & therapeutics.

[5]  S. Zeuzem,et al.  Chronic hepatitis C in patients with persistently normal alanine transaminase levels. , 2006, Clinical gastroenterology and hepatology : the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association.

[6]  A. Alberti,et al.  Fibrosis progression in initially mild chronic hepatitis C , 2006, Journal of viral hepatitis.

[7]  T. Nakajima,et al.  A follow-up study to determine the value of liver biopsy and need for antiviral therapy for hepatitis C virus carriers with persistently normal serum aminotransferase. , 2005, Journal of hepatology.

[8]  A. Sanyal,et al.  A comparison of the spectrum of chronic hepatitis C virus between Caucasians and African Americans. , 2004, Clinical gastroenterology and hepatology : the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association.

[9]  E. Keeffe,et al.  Chronic hepatitis C with normal aminotransferase levels. , 2004, Gastroenterology.

[10]  L. Seeff,et al.  Aasld Practice Guideline Diagnosis, Management, and Treatment of Hepatitis C , 2003 .

[11]  P. Marcellin,et al.  Treatment of hepatitis C. The 2002 French consensus , 2003, Gut.

[12]  L. Skakni,et al.  Hepatitis C genotypes/subtypes among chronic hepatitis patients in Saudi Arabia. , 2003, Saudi medical journal.

[13]  B. Portmann,et al.  Liver histology and progression of fibrosis in individuals with chronic hepatitis C and persistently normal ALT , 2003, American Journal of Gastroenterology.

[14]  Samer S El-Kamary,et al.  Role of liver biopsy in management of chronic hepatitis C: A systematic review , 2002, Hepatology.

[15]  B. Bacon.  Treatment of patients with hepatitis C and normal serum aminotransferase levels , 2002, Hepatology.

[16]  A. Alberti,et al.  Prevalence of Liver Disease in a Population of Asymptomatic Persons with Hepatitis C Virus Infection , 2002, Annals of Internal Medicine.

[17]  A. Zanella,et al.  Updated Definitions of Healthy Ranges for Serum Alanine Aminotransferase Levels , 2002, Annals of Internal Medicine.

[18]  M. Puoti,et al.  Histological and virological features and follow-up of hepatitis C virus carriers with normal aminotransferase levels: the Italian prospective study of the asymptomatic C carriers (ISACC). , 2002, Journal of hepatology.

[19]  I. Siddique,et al.  Interferon-Alpha in Combination with Ribavirin for the Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis C in Patients with Persistently Normal Aminotransferase Levels , 2002, Digestion.

[20]  I. Damjanov.  Pathology of the Liver , 2002, Modern Pathology.

[21]  P. Ducrotte,et al.  Chronic hepatitis C with normal or abnormal aminotransferase levels: is it the same entity? , 2001, European journal of gastroenterology & hepatology.

[22]  P. Marcellin,et al.  Predictive value of ALT levels for histologic findings in chronic hepatitis C: A European collaborative study , 2002, Hepatology.

[23]  M. Rugge,et al.  Progression of fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C in children , 2001 .

[24]  F. Montagnese,et al.  Hepatitis C virus carriers with persistently normal aminotransferase levels: healthy people or true patients? , 2000, Digestive and liver disease : official journal of the Italian Society of Gastroenterology and the Italian Association for the Study of the Liver.

[25]  J. Raufman,et al.  Liver biopsy in the evaluation of patients with chronic hepatitis C who have repeatedly normal or near-normal serum alanine aminotransferase levels. , 2000, The American journal of medicine.

[26]  R. Torella,et al.  Natural history of hepatitis C virus carriers with persistently normal aminotransferase levels. , 2000, Gastroenterology.

[27]  Sanjeev Arora,et al.  Clinical features of hepatitis C–infected patients with persistently normal alanine transaminase levels in the southwestern United States , 1999, Hepatology.

[28]  M. Vidaud,et al.  Slow progression rate of fibrosis in hepatitis C virus patients with persistently normal alanine transaminase activity , 1998, Hepatology.

[29]  A. Magrini,et al.  Clinical, histological, and virological features of hepatitis C virus carriers with persistently normal or abnormal alanine transaminase levels , 1997, Hepatology.

[30]  Paul Landais,et al.  Hepatitis C Virus Type 1b (II) Infection in France and Italy , 1995, Annals of Internal Medicine.

[31]  P. Bedossa,et al.  Intraobserver and Interobserver Variations in Liver Biopsy Interpretation in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C , 1994 .

[32]  R. Groszmann,et al.  American association for the study of liver diseases , 1992 .

[33]  M. Brook,et al.  Treatment of hepatitis. , 1988, The Journal of hospital infection.

[34]  D. Thabut,et al.  Natural history and predictors of disease severity in chronic hepatitis C. , 2006, Journal of hepatology.

[35]  D. Delić,et al.  Predictive value of ALT levels for histologic findings in chronic hepatitis C , 2005 .

[36]  J. Hoofnagle,et al.  Progression of fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C. , 2003, Gastroenterology.

[37]  C. Bréchot,et al.  Hepatitis C virus type 1b (II) infection in France and Italy. Collaborative Study Group. , 1995, Annals of internal medicine.

[38]  P. Simmonds,et al.  Hepatitis C virus genotypes among HCV-chronic liver disease patients in Egypt: a leading trial. , 1994, The Journal of the Egyptian Public Health Association.