Hepatitis C associated chronic liver disease in renal transplant recipients.

Infection with Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) is emerging as a major cause of morbidity and mortality in renal transplant recipients. We studied three hundred and forty stable renal transplant recipients on follow-up in our transplant clinic. Anti-HCV, tested by second generation ELISA, was positive in 185 patients (54%) of whom 52 (28%) had evidence of chronic liver disease. Six of the study patients were positive for anti-HCV and hepatitis B surface antigen. Twenty-three patients consented to undergo liver biopsy of whom eight had normal histology or fatty changes. Five patients had chronic non-specific hepatitis; four each had chronic lobular and chronic active hepatitis (CAH) and two had CAH with cirrhosis. All 15 patients with significant abnormalities on liver histology had elevated serum transaminase levels. Repeat liver biopsies were performed in seven patients after a mean period of 23.8 months following the first biopsy which showed worsening of the disease in four while three retained the same pattern. These results suggest that the prevalence of anti-HCV in our renal transplant recipients is high and that these patients have a high prevalence of chronic liver disease associated with major changes on liver histology. It is therefore recommended that caution is exercised while considering transplantation in patients who are anti-HCV positive.