Hepatitis C virus-associated cryoglobulinemia with membrano-proliferative glomerulonephritis treated with prednisolone and interferon: A case report

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major cause of liver-associated morbidity and has an increasing prevalence worldwide. Hepatitis C virus infection may lead to chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis and liver failure. However, it is also associated with a wide range of extra-hepatic complications, such as cryoglobulinemia, an immune complex disease associated with cryoglobulin leading to multiple organ damage and, while the major symptom is vasculitis. The present study reported on a-58-year-old woman who was diagnosed with HCV-associated cryoglobulinemia with skin, kidney and blood system damage and biopsy-proven cryoglobulinemia membrano-proliferative glomerulonephritis. HCV RNA clearance occurred within a few weeks of interferon treatment and the patient was then treated by prednisolone and sustained interferon. While the therapeutic effect was obvious at first, the disease reappeared in combination with refractory infection and multiple organ failure, and the patient finally died. HCV-associated cryoglobulinemia is uncommon in developing countries such as China, while treatment guidelines remain to be established, particularly if complex complications are present.