Skip to main content
  • Interstitial lung diseases and lung in systemic diseases
  • Open access
  • Published:

Does hepatitis C virus enhance prevalence of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and affect its severity? An Egyptian study

Abstract

Background

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is the most common and severe form of pulmonary fibrosis characterized by gradual loss of pulmonary function. Despite rigorous research, the etiology of IPF has remained unknown. Viruses, for example, hepatitis C virus (HCV), had been implicated in IPF etiology; however, data on the prevalence of HCV infection in IPF patients were limited.

Aim of the study

Our aims were to assess the prevalence of HCV antibodies in IPF patients and to assess the relationship between severity of pulmonary and hepatic dysfunction.

Materials and methods

IPF patients were prospectively enrolled from Chest Department, Assiut University Hospital. HCV antibodies were detected using the third-generation enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Patients’ pulmonary and hepatic functions were evaluated.

Results

HCV antibodies were significantly higher in IPF patients than in controls (29.4 vs. 14%, P = 0.04). Patients with HCV had significantly more severe hypoxemia and lower diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide than those without HCV (47.7 ± 11.3 vs. 54 ± 18.7, P = 0.03 and 52.7 ± 8.4 vs. 67.3 ± 9.5, P = 0.01, respectively). There was no significant difference between HCV-positive IPF patients and HCV-negative IPF patients regarding spirometric parameters and liver function parameters.

Conclusion

This higher prevalence of HCV and its effect on pulmonary functions in IPF patients may contribute in IPF pathogenesis, which hopefully will allow currently available antiviral drugs or novel therapeutic approaches to treat or modify the course of this devastating disease.

References

  1. Gottleib DJ, Snider GL. In: Phan S, Thrall R, eds. Lung function in pulmonary fibrosis. Pulmonary fibrosis. New York: Marcel Dekker Inc.; 1995: 85.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Irving WL, Day S, Johnston ID. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and hepatitis C virus infection. Am Rev Respir Dis 1993; 148:1683–1684.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Yamaguchi S, Kubo K, Fujimoto K, Honda T, Sekiguchi M, Sodeyama T. Analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in patients with chronic hepatitis C before and after treatment with interferon alpha. Thorax 1997; 52:33–37.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Raghu G, Weycker D, Edelsberg J, Bradford WZ, Oster G. Incidence and prevalence of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2006; 174:810–816.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Texas Department of State Health Services. 2009 natality file. Austin, TX: Center for Health Statistics, Texas Department of State Health Services; 2012. Available at: http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/chs/vstat/vs09/anrpt.shtm. [Accessed on 2012 Jul 23]

    Google Scholar 

  6. Saleh AM, Elalfy H, Arafa MM, Abousamra N, El-Badrawy A, Mohamed MA, et al. Association between HCV induced mixed cryoglobulinemia and pulmonary affection: the role of TNF-alpha in the pathogenesis of pulmonary changes. Egypt J Chest Dis Tuberc 2014; 63:259–265.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Helmy NA, Abdelhakim MM, Abdel Razek NM, Hany HA, Essmat GG, Fouad A. Interstitial pulmonary fibrosis in hepatitis C virus patients. EJB 2007; 1:38–52.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Raghu G, Collard HR, Egan JJ, Martinez F, Behr J, Brown KK, et al. ATS/ ERS/JRS/ALAT Committee on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. An official ATS/ERS/JRS/ALAT statement: idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: evidence-based guidelines for diagnosis and management. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2011; 183:788–824.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Gildea TR, McCarthy K. Pulmonary function testing. Disease management project. The Cleveland Clinic Foundation: Cleveland Clinic Center for Continuing Education; 2010.

  10. Ueda T, Ohta K, Suzuki N, Yamaguchi M, Hirai K, Horiuchi T, et al. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and high prevalence of serum antibodies to hepatitis C virus. Am Rev Respir Dis 1992; 146:266–268.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Meliconi R, Andreone P, Fasano L, Galli S, Pacilli A, Miniero R, et al. Incidence of hepatitis C virus infection in Italian patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Thorax 1996; 51:315–317.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Bellentani S, Tiribelli C, Saccoccio G, Sodde M, Fratti N, de Martin C, et al. Prevalence of chronic liver disease in the general population of Northern Italy: the Dionysos study. Hepatology 1994; 20:1442–1449.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Zignego AL, Ferri C, Monti M. Hepatitis C virus as a lymphotropic agent evidences and pathogenetic implications. Clin Exp Rheumatol 1995; 13:33–37.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Spagnolo P, Zeuzem S, Richeldi L, du Bois RM. The complex interrelationships between chronic lung and liver disease: a review. J Viral Hepat 2010; 17:381–390.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Arase Y, Suzuki F, Suzuki Y, Akuta N, Kobayashi M, Kawamura Y, et al. Hepatitis C virus enhances incidence of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. World J Gastroenterol 2008; 14:5880–5886.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Idilman R, Cetinkaya H, Savas I, Aslan N, Sak SD, Bastemir M, et al. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid analysis in individuals with chronic hepatitis C. J Med Virol 2002; 66:34–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Lauer GM, Walker BD. Hepatitis C virus infection. N Engl J Med 2001; 345:41–52.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Kanazawa H, Hirata K, Yoshikawa J. Accelerated decline of lung function in COPD patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection: a preliminary study based on small numbers of patients. Chest 2003; 123:596–599.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Viegi G, Fornai E, Ferri C, Di Munno O, Begliomini E, Vitali C, et al. Lung function in essential mixed cryoglobulinemia: a short-term follow-up. Clin Rheumatol 1989; 8:331–338.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Ferri C, La Civita L, Fazzi P, Solfanelli S, Lombardini F, Begliomini E, et al. Interstitial lung fibrosis and rheumatic disorders in patients with hepatitis C virus infection. Br J Rheumatol 1997; 36:360–365.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Erturk A, Tokgonul AN, Capan N, Erturk H, Dursun AB, Bozkaya H. Pulmonary alterations in patients with chronic HCV infection. Dig Liver Dis 2006; 38:673–676.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Kanazawa H, Yoshikawa J. Accelerated decline in lung function and impaired reversibility with salbutamol in asthmatic patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection: a 6-year follow-up study. Am J Med 2004; 116:749–752.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Moorman J, Saad M, Kosseifi S, Krishnaswamy G. Hepatitis C virus and the lung: implications for therapy. Chest 2005; 128:2882–2892.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elham A. Hassan MD.

Rights and permissions

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Hassan, E.A., Malek, M.O.A., Hasan, A.A. et al. Does hepatitis C virus enhance prevalence of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and affect its severity? An Egyptian study. Egypt J Bronchol 9, 69–72 (2015). https://doi.org/10.4103/1687-8426.153655

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/1687-8426.153655

Keywords