Lichen planus and Hepatitis C: a case-control study

Abstract

BackgroundThe association of lichen planus with hepatitis C (HCV) has been widely reported in the literature. However, there are wide geographical variations in the reported prevalence of HCV infection in patients with lichen planus. This study was conducted to determine the frequency of hepatitis C in Iranian patients with lichen planus at Razi hospital, Tehran.MethodsDuring the years 1997 and 1998, 146 cases of lichen planus, 78 (53.1%) women and 69 (46.9%) men were diagnosed. They were diagnosed on the basis of the usual clinical features and, if necessary, typical histological findings. The patients were screened for the presence of anti-HCV antibodies by third generation ELISA and liver function tests. We used the results from screening of blood donors for anti HCV (carried out by Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization) for comparison as the control group.ResultsAnti-HCV antibodies were detected in seven cases (4.8%). This was significantly higher than that of the blood donors' antibodies (p < 0.001). The odds ratio was 50.37(21.45–112.24). A statistically significant association was demonstrated between erosive lichen planus and HCV infection. Liver function tests were not significantly different between HCV infected and non-infected patients.ConclusionHCV apears to have an etiologic role for lichen planus in Iranian patients. On the other hand, liver function tests are not good screening means for HCV infection.

The Prevalence of Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Oral Lichen Planus in an Ethnic Chinese Cohort of 232 Patients

“…Chung et al had reported that, in southern Taiwan, OLP was significantly associated with HCV, particularly atrophic-erosive type (Chung et al, 2004), which is consistent with the conclusion which Ghodsi et al had obtained in the Tehran cohort (Ghodsi et al, 2004). Similar results were found in our study.…”

The management of HCV infected pregnant women and their children European paediatric HCV network

“…Patients with cirrhosis develop hepatocellular carcinoma at an annual incidence of 1-4% [9]. Extra-hepatic manifestations or autoimmune disorders such as fatigue, arthralgia, paraesthesia, myalgia, pruritus, lichen planus and sicca syndrome are often reported among infected adults with a prevalence O10% [8,10]. Furthermore, infected individuals may be at increased risk of nonHodgkin's lymphoma [11].…”

Association of lichen planus with hepatitis C virus infection

“…e explanations for this observation could be that expatriates are from countries in which a higher incidence of HCV infection and lichen planus has been reported. 9,10 Our study has limitations as regards the control group. Because of the holy environment and conservative society not many females volunteered to participate in the study.…”

“…9 A similar study of high incidence has been reported from Iran. 10 Another study conducted in Spain reported a statistically significant association between erosive lichen planus and HCV infection suggesting that a high prevalence of HCV-RNA in lichen planus provided some evidence that HCV infection might have a role in the pathogenesis of lichen planus. 11 e results of our study are in line with the findings in the above mentioned studies.…”