Hepatitis C Virus–Associated Fulminant Hepatic Failure

Abstract

ULMINANT hepatic failure is a dramatic clinical syndrome characterized by massive necrosis of liver cells. Among patients with non-A, non-B fulminant hepatitis, antibodies against HCV (anti-HCV) or serum HCV RNA were found in 40 to 60 percent in Japan 5,6 and Taiwan, 7 but in only 2 percent (range, 0 to 12 percent) in Western countries, Whether these discrepancies reflect geographic differences in the epidemiology of HCV infection or the pathogenicity of the prevalent viral strains is not known. Furthermore, because of the dramatic course of fulminant hepatic failure, in most patients only a single serum sample, often obtained late in the course of the disease, was studied.