Association of Pretreatment Liver Histology with Serum Alanine Aminotransferase Level and Body Mass Index in Hcv-rna Positive Patients

Objective: To assess association of pretreatment liver histology with serum Alanine aminotrasferase (ALT) level and Body Mass Index (BMI) in HCV positive patients. Material and Methods: A prospective study conducted at Pathology and Gastroenterology Departments of CMH Peshawar from June 2007 to December 2008 included 100 adult HCV RNA positive patients. Percutaneous liver biopsy was performed and analyzed for necroinflammation, fibrosis and steatosis. The observations were recorded and analyzed by using SPSS 13. Results: Fifty-four male and 46 female subjects between ages of 13-70 years were included in the study. 66% patients had ALT levels of 42-89 IU/L, 74.2% had grade II disease, 12.1% grade III disease. 34% patients had ALT levels of > 90 IU/L. 56% had grade II & 38.2% grade III disease. Correlation of ALT with disease grade was significant, P value 0.029. Association of ALT with disease stage was not significant, P value 0.139. Fifty-six percent of obese patients had elevated serum ALT. Association of BMI with ALT was significant P value 0.034. Conclusion: Assessment of pretreatment liver histology and its association with ALT & BMI is helpful to determine the extent of hepatic damage and presence of steatosis.