HISTOPATHOLOGICAL GRADING AND STAGING IN LIVER BIOPSIES OF HEPATITIS-C PATIENTS AND THEIR ASSOCIATION WITH ALT LEVELS

Objective: to perform the histological evaluation of liver biopsies and see its association with the serological levels of alt. methodology: this was a prospective study based on liver biopsies of fifty hepatitis c patients, whose serum alt levels were also estimated. h and e stained slides were examined to determine the histological activity and fibrosis score. results: grade 1 activity was found in 44% of patients; whereas 42% had an activity of grade 3. about 44% cases having grade 1 activity had a mean alt of 52.3 u/l while 42% cases having severe activity had a mean alt of 76.14 u/l. the present study revealed a significant relationship of alt with fibrosis (p < 0.005). a steady and proportional rise in mean age with increasing score of fibrosis stage was also evident. conclusion: higher alt levels are associated with more pronounced forms of necroinflammatory activity; however normal alt level does not rule out severity of the disease suggesting that all such patients require liver biopsy to unearth clinically subtle but advanced liver disease.