Kidney disease in Hepatitis C patients

Patients with Hepatitis C are more likely to experience a rapid decline in the function of their kidneys. Adults infected with hepatitis C virus are at an increased risk for developing end-stage kidney disease that requires lifelong dialysis or kidney transplantation. It has been seen, that liver is not the only organ affected by HCV. The impact of the virus on the kidneys is visible, though not clear. Recently, data was collected Medicare, the United States Renal Data System and the department of Veteran affairs. Serum creatinine levels of the patients were measured between 1 October 2000 and 30 September 2001 and HCV antibody testing was done within 1 year of creatinine testing. Patients were followed up until October 2004, for the outcome of treated end-stage renal disease (ESRD), defined as the onset of chronic dialysis or renal transplantation. It was found that out of 474369 patients, nearly eleven percent (53000) tested positive. The results showed that HCV infection nearly tripled the risk of end-stage kidney disease. However, this was only apparent in patients younger than 70 years of age and more pronounced in those with normal or near-normal kidney function.