Severe evolution of chronic hepatitis C in renal transplantation: a case control study

BACKGROUND To evaluate the impact of kidney transplantation on histopathological progression of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related liver disease. METHODS In a retrospective study, 28 HCV-positive renal transplant patients, who underwent two sequential liver biopsies with a mean of 7.1+/-4.0 years, were compared with 28 matched immunocompetent controls. RESULTS According to the Metavir score, the initial and final activity scores (from 0 to 3) increased from 0.2+/-0.4 to 1.4+/-1.1 (P