Effect of hepatitis C virus on C-reactive protein and interleukin-6 in hemodialysis patients

ABSTRACT

Patients with end-stage renal disease are at a high risk of hepatitis C virus [HCV] infections. These patients are on maintenance hemodialysis where they are exposed to dialysis fluid and dialysis membrane that generate an acute-phase response, which leads to inflammation, reflected in increased inflammatory markers like C-reactive protein [CRP] and interleukin-6 [IL-6]. The aim of this study was to investigate levels of IL-6 and CRP in patients on hemodialysis and to determine effects of HCV on these markers. A total of 43 patients [39.5% men and 60.5% women; age range, 21 to 65 years] on maintenance hemodialysis for a period of at least 3 months were included. Twenty-four of them were HCV positive. Serum IL-6 and CRP were assessed in all patients. Of HCV-positive patients, 11 [45.8%] had high levels of CRP, while 13 [54.2%] had low levels and increased levels of IL-6 [1064 +/- 544.2 pg/mL, P=.19]. Of 19 HCV-negative patients, 13 [68.4%] had high levels of CRP, while 6 [31.6%] had low levels, and all these patients had low levels of IL-6, as compared to HCVpositive patients. No significant correlation was observed between the levels of CRP or IL-6 and the duration of dialysis. In our study, we found high serum IL-6 and CRP levels in HCV-positive hemodialysis patients, compared with HCVnegative ones. However, we failed to show the significance of these differences. More studies with large sample sizes and evaluation of the other inflammatory markers are warranted