Why the study?
HCV infection may impact endothelial function and affect lipid metabolism by elevating circulating inflammatory cytokines, but the correlation of these changes with fibrosis severity and esophageal varices required evaluation.
CIMT, ABI, and specific lipid ratios can serve as non-invasive predictors for advanced fibrosis and esophageal varices in patients with HCV-related cirrhosis.
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May aid non-invasive stratification in HCV cirrhosis; hypothesis-generating and requires prospective validation before practice change.
BACKGROUND: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection may affect lipid metabolism by enhancing the circulating levels of inflammatory cytokines, together with its impact on endothelial function. AIM: To evaluate the potential correlation of changes in lipid profile, carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), and ankle-brachial index with the severity of fibrosis, grades of esophageal varices (EVs), and fibrosis indices. METHODS: = 60, served as the healthy control group). All patients underwent routine laboratory tests, including a lipid profile assay. Low-density lipoproteins (LDL)/platelet count and platelet/splenic diameter ratios were calculated. Abdominal ultrasonography, CIMT by carotid Doppler, bedside ankle-brachial index (ABI), liver stiffness measurement, and upper gastrointestinal endoscopy were performed. CONCLUSION: CIMT, ABI, VLDL, LDL/platelet count ratio are good non-invasive predictors of advanced fibrosis, presence of EVs, and endothelial dysfunction in liver cirrhosis.
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Hanafy et al. (2020) studied this question.
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