INFECŢIA CU VHC ŢI ATEROSCLEROZA SUBCLINICĂ.

Objective. The contribution of chronic Hepatitis C virus infection in atherosclerosis progression is still controversial. Subclinical atherosclerosis is an intermediate stage in severe cardiovascular events; carotid ultrasound screening for the detection of early atherosclerosis is an important tool for the risk stratiflcation and for the therapeutic approaches. Material and methods. 71 patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and 51 without HVC infection (control group), matched for age, gender and traditional cardiovascular risk factors, were evaluated by clinical examination, laboratory tests and ultrasound exams for carotid-intima thickness measurement and fatty liver screening. Results. HCV infected patients had a particular metabolic pattern, with overweight, hyperglicemic and hypolipemic status compared with control group, statistically signiflcant (p < 0.05). Carotid intima-media thickness was higher in HCV group vs control group (0.88 ± 0.05 vs 0.76 ± 0.08 mm, p < 0.01), and carotid atheromas number was signiflcantly higher in HCV group vs Control group (42% vs 14%, p = 0.006). The higher prevalence of hepatic steatosis was associated with hepatitis C infection (41% vs 12%, p = 0.007). Non-viremic HCV patients had similar metabolic pattern with control group, but higher rates of carotid intima-media thickness measurements (0.86 ± 0.05 vs 0.76 ± 0.08 mm, p < 0.001). Conclusions. Subclinical atherosclerosis detected in chronic hepatitis C virus infection suggests that HCV may be considered as a novel cardiovascular risk factor, with important implications for the patient management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]