Association Of Fibrotic Changes In Liver On Fibro-Scan With Viral Load And Duration Of Hepatitis C Infection -A Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis C is a diverse illness that causes significant death and morbidity. The hepatitis C virus infects hundreds of millions of individuals globally (HCV). More than 80% of those infected develop chronic infection; the remaining 10-20% recovers spontaneously through natural immunity. Acute hepatitis is only icteric in 20% of individuals and is seldom severe. METHODS: A pilot study was conducted at INOR hospital Abbottabad. Eleven hepatitis C positive and 10 hepatitis C negative participants were included in the study. RESULTS: A significant difference correlation was found between viral load and SWE quantification for fibrosis stage in Kilo-Pascal, r=0.904 (p-value=0.000