Hepatitis C virus infection in nephrology patients.

CONTEXT Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection leads to chronic liver disease, but also to extra-hepatic manifestations. EVIDENCE ACQUISITIONS Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Google Scholar, Pubmed (NLM), LISTA (EBSCO) and Web of Science have been searched. RESULTS Herein, we provide an overview of renal diseases related to HCV and their therapies, as well as the treatment options available for HCV (+)/RNA (+) dialysis patients. We will not mention, however, HCV infection-related complications in the post-kidney transplantation setting. CONCLUSIONS Extra-hepatic manifestations of HCV infection include mixed cryoglobulinemia, lymphoproliferative disorders, and renal disease. HCV infection has been reported in association with distinct histological patterns of glomerulonephritis in native kidneys.