Systemic manifestations of chronic viral hepatitis

Aim: HBV and HCV infections are often associated with extrahepatic manifestations, e.g. arthritis, cryoglobulinemia, glomerulonephritis, polyarteritis nodosa, aplastic anaemia, urticaria etc. A short review is given on these and other immunological alterations and on the author's experiences in this field. Patients and Methods One hundred patients (pts) with chronic hepatitis C, 44 pts with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and 50 pts with porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT) have been studied. Serological tests, cryoglobulins, circulating immune complexes (CIC), rheumatoid factor (RF), antinuclear (ANA), anti-smooth muscle (…