Prevalence of Peripheral Neuropathy in Chronic Hepatitis C Patients

Abstract

Objective: To determine the prevalence of peripheral neuropathy in chronic hepatitis C patients presenting at Tertiary Care Hospital, Karachi.

Methodology: This descriptive cross sectional study was conducted at Department of Medicine, Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, Karachi, from January 2021 to June 2021. Patients with chronic hepatitis C presenting with symmetric proximal and distal weakness (MRC scale ≤ 4) developing and reduced tendon reflexes in all extremities of either gender or aged 20 to 70 years were included. Medical history and clinical examination were performed, with motor strength graded using the Medical Research Council (MRC) scale, where a score of ≤4 in any muscle group was taken to indicate motor weakness suggestive of peripheral neuropathy. Relevant data was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 20.

Results: A total of 151 patients were studied; their mean age, duration of chronic hepatitis C, and BMI, were 57.14±6.49 years, 8.72±4.24 months, and 27.41±2.56 kg/m2 respectively.  Overall peripheral neuropathy was found in 73 patients (48.3%). Based on post stratification analysis, advanced age of the patients, female gender, obesity and prolonged duration of disease were significantly associated with peripheral neuropathy (p <0.05).

Conclusion: The prevalence of peripheral neuropathy was observed highly frequent among the patients with CLD, indicating an electrophysiological examination should always be done to avoid underestimating peripheral neuropathy, specifically among females, obese and older HCV patients