Clinical Significance of Perihepatic Lymphadenopathy in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C Infection

• Published in: Digestive diseases and sciences 2011-07, Vol.56 (7), p.2137-2144
• Main Authors: Tavakoli-Tabasi, Shahriar, Ninan, Sheeba
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Biochemistry; Biological and medical sciences; Care and treatment; Development and progression; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gastroenterology; Gastroenterology. Liver. Pancreas. Abdomen; Health aspects; Hepatitis C; Hepatitis C virus; Hepatitis C, Chronic - complications; Hepatology; Human viral diseases; Humans; Infection; Infectious diseases; Liver; Liver cirrhosis; Liver Cirrhosis - mortality; Liver Cirrhosis - virology; Liver. Biliary tract. Portal circulation. Exocrine pancreas; Lymphatic diseases; Lymphatic Diseases - virology; Male; Medical colleges; Medical research; Medical sciences; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Medicine, Experimental; Middle Aged; Oncology; Original Article; Other diseases. Semiology; Prognosis; Retrospective Studies; Transplant Surgery; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; Viral diseases; Viral hepatitis; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0163-2116; 1573-2568
• DOI: 10.1007/s10620-010-1555-0

Background Patients with chronic hepatitis C (HCV) infection commonly have perihepatic lymph node enlargement (PLNE). We investigated the prognostic value of PLNE in the development of complicated cirrhosis and death, as well as the clinical and laboratory factors associated with the presence of PLNE in a cohort of HCV-infected veterans. Methods Using a retrospective cohort design, we compared the rate of development of decompensated cirrhosis and/or death in a group of HCV-infected patients who did not have evidence of decompensated cirrhosis stratified by the presence or absence of PLNE. We used Kaplan–Meier survival curves. We then evaluated which factors were predictive of detection of PLNE using logistic regression. Results A total of 131 patients were included in the study. Fifty-nine patients had PLNE and 72 patients did not. After a mean follow-up of 42 months, survival in the absence of progression to decompensated cirrhosis and/or death was not significantly different between the two groups (log-rank test, p  = 0.27). The only factor predictive of progression to decompensated cirrhosis and/or death was the presence of cirrhosis at baseline (HR 13.13, 95% CI 2.21–79.41). In addition, cirrhosis was the only factor predictive of the detection of PLNE on CT scan (OR 3.09: CI 2.1–25.9). Conclusions Presence of PLNE in patients with chronic HCV infection is strongly associated with subclinical cirrhosis. However, PLNE does not independently predict the progression of liver disease to decompensated cirrhosis and/or death in HCV-infected patients.