Autoimmune neutropenia in chronic liver disease patients with hepatitis C virus at Suez Canal University Hospital

Abstract EN

Background : Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) continues to be a public health problem in Egypt with data suggesting that its incidence may be increasing.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infec-tion has been associated with a variety of extra-hepatic manifestations, including auto-immune disorders.

Aim: To assess the prevalence of autoimmune neutropenia (AIN) in chronic liver disease (CLD) patients with HCV.

Patients and Methods: A case-control de-sign was used to fulfill the study objective.

It was conducted on 60 subjects, divided into 2 groups: group 1 (30 HCV-infected patients with low total leucocytic count [TLC] as a study group) and group 2 (30 HCV-infected patients with normal TLC as a control group).

AIN was evaluated by granulocyte immuno-fluorescence test (GIFT) to detect auto-antibodies against neutrophils in HCV-infected patients presented with neutro-penia.

Results: The mean age of the first group was 49.9±11.6 years, while the mean age of the second group was 52.7±11.3 years.

Male gender was found in 53.3 % of the low TLC group compared to 63.3 % in normal TLC group; Positive GIFT was found in 13.3 % of study group; while none of the control group has positive GIFT.

The significant variables among patients with low TLC included low ANC (OR : 5.0, 95 % CI: 1.5-16.5, low HB (OR: 7.0, 95 % CI: 1.4-35.5), and low PLT count (OR: 15.5, 95 % CI: 3.8-63.3).

Conclusion: AIN is sig-nificantly higher among CHC patients with low TLC compared to normal TLC patients.