Extinction of Hepatitis C Vrus During Hemodialysis Treatment: A Case Study

VernacularTitle:血液透析療法中にＣ型肝炎ウイルスが陰性化した１症例に対する考察
Author: Gen KURAMOCHI ; Kenji SHIMA
Publication Type:Journal Article
From:Journal of the Japanese Association of Rural Medicine 2003;51(6):933-936
CountryJapan
Language:Japanese
Abstract: At present, among the types of viral hepatitis, hepatitis C virus (HCV) appears to be the major cause of hepatitis in hemodialysis units. Previously, we took blood samples from the blood tubing at the inlet and the outlet of different dialyzers and measured serum HCV-RNA levels in hemodialysis patients with HCV. We found a significant reduction in serum HCV-RNA levels through the use of a polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) membrane in dialysis. In the present paper, we report on a case in which HCV was extinct during hemodialysis treatment. The patient was a 72- year-old woman. The duration of hemodialysis was 259 months. The biochemical findings revealed high levels of serum alkaline phosphatase and TTT. The data of other liver enzymes were within normal range. The serum HCV-RNA level, which had been tending downward, was 32 KIU/ml, when the dialyzing membrane was changed to a PMMA membrane. Thereafter, the serum HCV-RNA level further reduced and reached below 0.5 KIU/ml in 12 months. This result suggests that HCV reduction efficiency should be considered when dialyzing membranes are selected from among many.