Khalid Mahmood Nasir, Muhammad Saeed Aslam, Eiman Syed, Salman Walayt, Muhammad Saeed, Hajra Hussain, Maqsood Ahmad.
Haematological Disorders: Relative Contraindications for the Commencement of Chronic HCV Treatment, Otherwise Eligible for Antiviral Therapy.
Ann Pak Inst Med Sci Jan ;13(1):73-8.

Background: European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) and American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD) reported peripheral blood cytopenia as relative contraindications for HCV treatment. It is a potentially limiting factor the commencement and the effect of antiviral therapy in HCV patients Objective: the present study was planned to rule out peripheral blood cytopenias among chronic HCV infected patients. Material & Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Hepatitis Clinic, Jinnah Hospital Lahore from 15th august to 30th December 2016. A total of 530 samples were collected from chronic HCV positive patients. Non-probability consecutive sampling technique was used. About 05 ml of blood sample was collected (EDTA + Clotted) from every patient, by using standard venipuncture technique. Every sample was processed in pathology department &Dr. Abdul Qadir Khan PCR lab of JHL. HCV RNA PCR & and peripheral blood count was done from every sample. Data was stratified by age, gender and duration of hepatitis C positivity to deal with effect modifier. Poststratification chi-square test was used to determine the significance. Pvalue < 0.05 was taken significant. Results: Out of total 530 study participants 48.7% (n=258) were males and 51.3% (n=272) were females, Mean age was 40.80 +12.32. Among total 530 HCV-positive patients neutropenia was highly prevalent peripheral blood disorder 17.9% (95% CI 29–60) (95/530): followed Anemia 10.9% (95% CI 9–16) (58/530): and the least frequency of thrombocytopenia was observed in 8.1% (95% CI 83000– 123000) (43/530) patients. Conclusion: We conclude that unexplained neutropenia/thrombocytopenia/ anemia, should be tested for HCV infection. There is may be of association of HCV and peripheral blood cytopenias. Therefore to rule the biological basis of these associations further studies are needed.

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