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. 2021 Nov 8:76:e3236.
doi: 10.6061/clinics/2021/e3236. eCollection 2021.

Diabetes influences liver stiffness in chronic hepatitis C patients with and without virological cure: A longitudinal study

Daniela Malta Pontual  1 , Leticia Cancella Nabuco  2 , Ronir Raggio Luiz  3 , Ana Carolina Cardoso  1   2 , Renata M Perez  2   4   5   6 , Cristiane A Villela-Nogueira  2   6
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Diabetes influences liver stiffness in chronic hepatitis C patients with and without virological cure: A longitudinal study

Daniela Malta Pontual et al. Clinics (Sao Paulo). .

Abstract

Objectives: The aim was to prospectively assess the variation in liver stiffness (LS) and the associated factors for LS progression in a cohort of naïve, non-responder (NR), and sustained virological response (SVR) chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients.

Methods: This was a longitudinal study on CHC patients prospectively followed with serial elastography (Fibroscan®). The LS progression rate was determined, and the associated factors for progression were assessed using multiple linear regression analysis.

Results: A total of 406 patients were followed up for 44 (35-53) months [naïve (29%), NR (24%), and SVR (47%)]. At the end of the follow-up period, the SVR group had a significant decrease in LS [11.8 (9.2) vs. 8.8 (8.4) kPa (p<0.001)], the NR group had a significant increase in LS [6.6 (5.2) vs. 7.1 (4.5) kPa (p=0.069)], and the naïve group had no change in LS [6.3 (3.0) vs. 6.0 (3.8) kPa (p=0.22)]. The related factors for LS progression were lack of SVR (p=0.002) and diabetes (p=0.05). In the non-diabetic SVR group, a negative rate of progression (-0.047 kPa/month) was observed, whereas in the diabetic SVR group, a positive rate of progression (+0.037 kPa/month) was observed. The highest rate of progression was observed in NR with diabetes at the rate of +0.044 kPa/month.

Conclusion: LS in diabetes patients progresses despite SVR, suggesting the need for a close follow-up of this group post-treatment considering the risk of progression of liver disease even after SVR.

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Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Variation rate of LS measurements with respect to the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus in sustained virological response (SVR) and non-responder (NR) patients.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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