Affiliation:
1. Laboratoire de Biochimie des Protéines Vandoeuvre France
2. Service de Médecine Infantile 3 Hôpital d'Enfants Vandoeuvre France
3. Service d'Hygiène Hospitalière Vandoeuvre France
4. Laboratoire d'Anatomie Pathologique Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nancy‐Brabois Vandoeuvre France
Abstract
ABSTRACTBackground:α‐Glutathione S‐transferase (αGST) has been proposed as a more sensitive indicator than serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in detecting hepatocellular damage due to chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.Methods:The accuracy of α‐GST was compared with that of ALT and AST in detecting cytolysis in 103 blood samples issued from 31 children positive for HCV RNA.Results:α‐GST had a lower sensitivity than ALT or AST (32% vs. 54.4% for each aminotransferase). The sensitivity of ALT and/or AST was 60.2%, whereas that of ALT and/or α‐GST and AST and/or α‐GST was lower (58.3% and 57.3%, respectively). Among 41 serum samples with negative ALT and AST, only 2 had positive α‐GST, whereas α‐GST failed to detect cytolysis in 31 samples with elevated ALT and/or AST. No correlation was found between α‐GST, ALT, or AST and the Knodell score.Conclusions:The combination of ALT with AST is actually the best compromise in detecting cytolysis in untreated HCV‐infected patients.