Clinical epidemiology of extrahepatic manifestations of chronic hepatitis C virus infection

Abstract

Extrahepatic manifestations occur in more than half of patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection and may be no less dangerous to the health and life of the patient than the isolated pathology of the liver. Chronic hepatitis C virus infection is often accompanied by the formation of neurocognitive disorders, clinically manifested by general weakness, fatigue and the inability to maindoi tain concentration for a long time. Every fifth patient with chronic hepatitis C develops depression. The development of type 2 diabetes among patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection is observed 1.7 times more often than among non-infected individuals. Mixed cryoglobulinemia is observed in at least 30% of patients, however, the clinical manifestations of this pathology develop only in 4.9% of cases, of which 69–89% of skin lesions, 19–44% of distal sensory and sensorimotor polyneuropathy, 30% of membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis, 28% of joint damage. Among patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection, higher prevalence than among non-infected individuals is observed, the prevalence rates of such nosologies as lymphoma from cells of the marginal zone are 2.47 times, diffuse large cell B cell lymphoma – 2.24 times, hypothyroidism – 3.1 time. Significantly more rarely encountered extrahepatic manifestations of chronic hepatitis C virus infection are skin lesions that are not associated with the development of cryoglobulinemic vasculitis: acquired late skin porphyria, necrolytic acral erythema and lichen planus. The question of the pathogenetic relationship of chronic hepatitis C virus infection with cardiovascular pathology remains open.