Predictors for Liver Cirrhosis in Patients with Hepatitis C Virus: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Cirrhosis is one of the most critical health problems with a great economic burden on the health system. Objectives: This study evaluated cirrhosis predictors in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV). Methods: A total of 608 patients with HCV were included in the present study within 2011 and 2017 and divided into two groups based on the presence and absence of cirrhosis. Demographic and laboratory data (e.g., blood group, aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), prothrombin time (PT), platelet count, anti-HCV antibodies, and virus level count) were collected by referring to patients’ files and compared between the two groups. Predictive factors were determined using the regression model. Results: In this study, 85 patients (13.9%) had liver cirrhosis. Univariate analysis showed that hepatic enzymes AST, ALT, platelet count, PT, partial thromboplastin time, international normalized ratio, and HCV ribonucleic acid levels in cirrhosis patients were significantly higher than in non-cirrhosis patients (P < 0.05). Adjusted logistic regression analysis showed age < 45 years (adjusted odds ratio (ORAdj): 1.11, P = 0.028), male gender (ORAdj: 2.08, P = 0.023), co-infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection (ORAdj: 2.58, P = 0.001), and alcohol consumption (ORAdj: 1.87, P = 0.001) were predictive factors for cirrhosis in patients with HCV Conclusions: This study showed that in patients with hepatitis C, age > 45 years, male gender, alcohol consumption, and co-infection with HBV significantly increased the risk of liver cirrhosis.