الفهرس 
INTRODUCTIONOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major global healthcare problem. HCV affects over 200 million people, with an estimated HCV prevalence of 2.8 % globally. It has been estimated that HCV accounts for 27% of cirrhosis and 25% of hepatocellular carcinoma cases
worldwide.
Chronic liver diseases frequently are associated with hematological abnormalities. Anemia of diverse etiology occurs in about 75% of patients with chronic liver disease. Indeed, a variety of different mechanisms may be implicated in the development of anemia in patients with liver disease.
The aim of the present work was to investigate the types and possible underlying mechanisms of anemia in Egyptian chronic hepatitis C patients prior to and during interferon / ribavirin versus sofosbuvir therapy.Patients with the following criteria were excluded from the study: Age below 18 or above 70 years, concomitant chronic disorder, pregnancy, chronic inherited or acquired anemias preceding diagnosis of HCV, other chronic hepatic diseases, blood transfusion within one month prior to enrollment, patients on drugs known to induce anemia, patients with hematological and non hematological malignancy diagnosed prior to enrollment, and alcoholic patients.
All patients included in the study were subjected to proper history taking, thorough clinical examination, routine laboratory investigations: including complete blood count, liver and renal function tests, HCV antibodies and HBs Ag by ELISA, quantitative HCV- RNA by PCR, and abdominal Ultrasonography.