Author(s)

Mohamed Abdel-Fattah El-Feki, Nilly Helmy Abdalla, Mohamed Ibrahim Atta, Ahmed Amin Ibrahim

Internal Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Beni Suef University, Beni Suef, Egypt.

Objective: There are clinical and laboratory associations between thyroid and liver diseases. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is known to be responsible for both hepatic and extrahepatic diseases. The most frequent and clinically important endocrine extrahepatic diseases are thyroid disorders and type 2 diabetes mellitus. We aim to study the relationship between the serum level of thyroid hormones (THs) and the severity of liver disease in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (CHC) infection. Methods: 60 patients with CHC infection were selected for the study. They were divided into two groups: with or without liver cirrhosis. Those with liver cirrhosis were further subdivided according to the Child-Turcotte-Pugh scoring system. Serum levels of free T3 (FT3), free T4 (FT4) and TSH were measured to all patients. Results: There was decrease in the FT3 and FT4 levels and increase in the TSH levels in patients with CHC with cirrhosis when compared to patients with CHC without cirrhosis. Conclusion: Thyroid profile abnormalities were seen in cirrhotic HCV patients when compared to non-cirrhotic patients. The abnormalities in the serum level of THs (decreased FT3, FT4, and increased TSH) are strongly associated with the severity of liver damage and advancing of the child score.

Hepatitis C Virus, Thyroid Hormones, Liver Cirrhosis

El-Feki, M. , Abdalla, N. , Atta, M. and Ibrahim, A. (2016) Serum Level of Thyroid Hormones in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection. Open Journal of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, 6, 126-134. doi: 10.4236/ojemd.2016.63017.