Impact of liver steatosis on the antiviral response in the hepatitis C virus-associated chronic hepatitis

: Background/Aim: Liver steatosis (LS) has been variably associated with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) but whether it affects sustained virological response to antiviral treatment and by what mechanisms is a question still under debate, at least for some genotypes. The aim of this work was to assess the frequency of LS, its relationship with host and viral factors and to what extent it can influence the response to antiviral combination therapy with pegylated interferon (INF)+ribavirin in a group of patients with CHC from a single center. Patients: One hundred and twelve patients with histologically proven CHC were treated with Peg INF‐α 2a 180 μg a week subcutaneously for 48 weeks plus ribavirin 1000 or 1200 mg/day, according to the patient's body weight. Steatosis was graded according to Brunt et al. Results: Forty‐six out of 112 patients (41.1%) were sustained virological responders (SVR). Seventy‐two out of 112 (64.3%) presented with LS at histology; in this group, there were 24 patients (33.3%) with SVR compared with 22 (55%) of the non‐steatosis group (χ2=6.5, P