Original ResearchClinical—LiverSerum Level of IP-10 Increases Predictive Value of IL28B Polymorphisms for Spontaneous Clearance of Acute HCV Infection
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Patients
A total of 120 patients with AHC (64 male and 56 female; mean age, 37 ± 16 years) and 96 healthy controls were analyzed for IL28B SNPs rs12979860 and rs8099917. All patients as well as healthy controls were white. The 96 healthy controls were healthy voluntary blood donors and considered to be representative for normal frequencies of tested SNPs in the Austrian population.
AHC was defined either by an elevation of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level of more than 5 times the upper limit of
Patient Characteristics
The mean age of patients with AHC was 37 ± 16 years and did not show any significant differences among patients with different IL28B genotypes. All patients were of European ancestry and diagnosed with AHC in Austrian referral centers. One hundred and six patients (88.3%) presented with ALT elevations of more than 5 times the upper limit of normal with or without jaundice and were diagnosed at the time point of acute presentation (Table 1). Fourteen patients (11.7%) had ALT levels less than 5
Discussion
In view of the high sustained virologic response rates by early antiviral therapy in acute HCV infection, identification of patients who may not clear HCV spontaneously is of importance. A delay of treatment of more than 3 months may diminish the efficacy of antiviral treatment.2, 3, 16, 17, 18, 19 On the other hand, due to high morbidity and costs, one should avoid unnecessary treatment, especially because a stringent allocation of increasingly limited economic resources is warranted. Thus,
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Kerstin Zinober, Elisabeth Eder, and Claudia Willheim for their help in sample collection and determination of IL28B SNPs and Dr Christoph Krall, from the Institute of Medical Statistics, Medical University of Vienna, Austria, for help in statistical analysis.
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Conflicts of interest The authors disclose the following: Peter Ferenci is a member of the global advisory board and the speaker's bureau of Roche (Basel, Switzerland) and Rottapharm-Madaus (Monza, Italy); an advisor to Böhringer-Ingelheim, Vertex/Tibotec, Pfizer, and MSD Austria; and a recipient of an unrestricted research grant from Roche Austria. Harald Hofer, Andreas Maieron, Michael Strasser, and Rudolf Stauber serve as speakers for Roche Austria and MSD Austria. Petra Steindl-Munda and Christian Datz serve as speakers for Roche Austria. The remaining authors disclose no conflicts.