Abstract :
Background:
Loss of bone mineral density (BMD) frequently occurs in patients with cirrhosis secondary
Methods:
dual x-ray absorptiometry in the lumbar spine (LS) and the femoral neck (FN). In addition, some bone metabolism
markers were also measured.
Fifty-seven consecutive patients with chronic hepatitis C underwent a BMD measurement by
Results:
0.444 (-3.3 - 1.6) at LS and 0.56 (-1.8 - 3.4) at FN region. The prevalence of osteoporosis and osteopenia were
3.5% (95% CI: 0.97-11.92) and 22.8% (95%CI: 13.8-38.98), respectively. BMD was correlated with the patient’s
weight and serum phosphate, but not with other liver function tests. Ten patients who had a followed-up BMD
assessment after 6 months of treatment with pegylated interferon/ribavirin had a significant increase in post-treatment
BMD by a mean of 0.02 gm/cm2 (95%CI: 0.008-0.03, p = 0.006) at LS and 0.01 gm/cm
p = 0.036) at FN.
BMD was lower than age-matched population in most of our patients with mean Z-scores of -2 (95%CI: 0.001-0.02,
Conclusion:
population. According to our preliminary result, the treatment with pegylated interferon plus ribavirin had
a positive effect on BMD and should be further investigated.
There was a significantly reduced BMD in chronic hepatitis C patients compared with agematched
[Thai J Gastroenterol 2007; 8(2): 73-77]
to chronic hepatitis C virus infection. However, little is known about the occurrence of bone disease in chronic
hepatitis C patients without cirrhosis and the effect of pegylated interferon/ribavirin therapy on BMD. This study
is aimed to evaluate the prevalence of osteopenia and osteoporosis in Thai patients with chronic hepatitis C both
before and after pegylated interferon/ribavirin treatment. |
file/Thai-Journal-of-gastroenterology-vol-8-no-2-900442.pdf