Objective: To determine Vitamin D deficiency in both cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC).
Methodology: We conducted a cross-sectional study at Centre for Liver and Digestive Diseases (CLD), Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi, Pakistan from August 2015 to February 2016 and included 120 Patients with CHC with or without cirrhosis. Two groups were formed and vitamin D levels were measured and level of severity was assessed.
Results: Out of 120 patients, 94(78.3%) patients had Vitamin D deficiency. 63(100%) cirrhotic patients and 31(54.4%) non cirrhotic patients had Vitamin D deficiency. In cirrhotic patients, 26(41.3%) had mild and 36(58.7%) had moderate Vitamin D deficiency while in non-cirrhotic patients 25(43.9%) had mild and 6(10.5%) had moderate deficiency. No patient with severe Vitamin D deficiency was observed.
Conclusion: Most of the patients infected with CHC suffer from vitamin D deficiency. This was observed more in cirrhotic patients than non-cirrhotic patients. Moreover, positive correlation was observed among vitamin D deficiency and stage of fibrosis.
Key words: Chronic hepatitis C (CHC), cirrhotic, non-cirrhotic, Vitamin D.
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