RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Cryoglobulinaemia and rheumatic manifestations in patients with hepatitis C virus infection
JF Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases
JO Ann Rheum Dis
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and European League Against Rheumatism
SP 728
OP 731
DO 10.1136/ard.57.12.728
VO 57
IS 12
A1 Young Ho Lee
A1 Jong Dae Ji
A1 Jong Eun Yeon
A1 Kwan Soo Byun
A1 Chang Hong Lee
A1 Gwan Gyu Song
YR 1998
UL http://ard.bmj.com/content/57/12/728.abstract
AB OBJECTIVES To investigate the association of cryoglobulinaemia and rheumatic manifestations in Korean patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. METHODS Forty nine Korean patients with HCV infection were recruited. The prevalence, concentration, and type of cryoglobulin (by immunofixation), rheumatoid factor (RF), antinuclear antibody (ANA), and various rheumatological symptoms were investigated and HCV genotype was determined by polymerase chain reaction with genotype specific primer. RESULTS The prevalence of cryoglobulin was 59% in Korean HCV patients and the concentration of cryoglobulin was 9.8 (7.9) g/l (mean (SD)). The type of cryoglobulinaemia was identified in 23 (80%) of 29 HCV patients with cryoglobulinaemia and they were all type III. There were no differences in age, sex, history of operation and transfusion, proportion of liver cirrhosis between the patients with cryoglobulinaemia and those without cryoglobulinaemia. The frequencies of RF and ANA were 14% and 3.4% respectively in HCV patients with cryoglobulinaemia. There was no difference in HCV genotype between the patients with cryoglobulinaemia and those without cryoglobulinaemia. Clinical features of HCV patients were as follows: arthralgia/arthritis (35%), cutaneous manifestation (37%), Raynaud’s phenomenon (8%), paresthesia (44%), dry eyes (22%), dry mouth (10%), oral ulcer (33%), and abdominal pain (14%). However, these rheumatological symptoms did not differ between the two groups. CONCLUSION Although the rheumatological symptoms were not different between HCV patients with and without cryoglobulinaemia, HCV patients showed various rheumalogical manifestations. These result suggests that HCV infection could be included as one of the causes in patients with unexplained rheumatological symptoms.