Prevalence of gallstone disease in patients of hepatitis C virus infection

Aim: to determine the association of hcv with gallstone disease in patients of hepatitis c virus infection. methods: this case control study was planned in bakhtawar amin memorial hospital. one hundred patients of hepatitis c within a duration of one year march-2016 to march-2017 was recruited. for hcv diagnosis,we used eliza test,as it is more accurate than kit screening methods. while the hundred patients in control groups were that who were not having any liver disorder. diagnosis of gallstone disease was based on ultrasonography reporting.we noted all required patients variables and entered them in spss v23. for comparison of groups,we used chi-square test or paired sample t-test. results: patients of cases and control groups were comparable regarding age,gender and body mass index. the mean age was 46.2±7.4 years among cases and 44.9±6.8 among controls (p-value 0.2). there were 60 males in case group and 63 males in control group (p-value 0.4). regarding prevalence of gallstone disease (gsd),gsd was diagnosed in only 8% patients in control group and 22% patients in cases group. while 92% patients in control group were of not having any gallbladder disorder and 78% patients in cases group were free of all gallbladder disorders (p-value 0.005). conclusion: hcv infection even in the absence of liver cirrhosis is an independent predictor of gallstone disease.