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PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
3
pubmed:dateCreated
2003-5-19
pubmed:abstractText
Recurrent hepatitis and acute rejection share common features which make difficult for diagnosis in liver transplant hepatitis C virus (HCV) positive patients. We studied the usefulness of quantitative monitoring of HCV RNA and immunoglobulin (Ig)M anti-HCV in the differential diagnosis between recurrent hepatitis and acute rejection in 98 consecutive anti-HCV positive liver transplant patients. Aminotransferase levels, serum HCV RNA and IgM anti-HCV were measured at the time of transplantation and monthly thereafter. A liver biopsy (LB) was obtained when serum aminotransferase levels increased to twice or more than normal. During a mean follow-up of 16 months 86 aminotransferase flares were observed. Histology was compatible with recurrent hepatitis C in 44 cases and with acute rejection in 28, doubtful in 14. The fluctuations of HCV RNA serum levels were not significantly different in the three groups. Serum IgM anti-HCV levels increased (from negative to positive or with value variations > or = 0.18) in 36 of 44 cases with recurrent hepatitis C at the time of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) flare. IgM anti-HCV remained unchanged in all rejection cases (P < 0.001), but increased in 10 of 11 histologically doubtful cases that were diagnosed as hepatitis at the second LB. Increasing serum levels of IgM anti-HCV at the time of ALT flares are significantly associated with recurrent hepatitis C in liver transplant patients. The quantitative monitoring of IgM anti-HCV appears to be an additional diagnostic tool for distinguishing recurrent hepatitis C from acute graft rejection with a 100% specificity; 100% positive predictive value and 88.9% diagnostic accuracy.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
May
pubmed:issn
1352-0504
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
10
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
168-73
pubmed:dateRevised
2005-11-17
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2003
pubmed:articleTitle
Increasing serum levels of IgM anti-HCV are diagnostic of recurrent hepatitis C in liver transplant patients with ALT flares.
pubmed:affiliation
U.O. Gastroenterologia e Epatologia, Azienda Ospedaliera Pisana e Università di Pisa, via Paradisa 2, Ospedale Cisanello, 56124 Pisa, Italy.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article