Hepatitis C Virus in Fulminant Hepatic Failure

Abstract

Serologic assays for hepatitis C virus (HCV) have demonstrated that HCV is the chief cause of acute and chronic non-A, non-B hepatitis.¹ Although it has been widely assumed that non-A, non-B hepatitis virus is a major cause of fulminant hepatic failure, the role of HCV has not yet been elucidated.² Accordingly, we tested for the presence of anti-HCV (by Ortho HCV-antibody enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) and HCV RNA (by the polymerase chain reaction)³ in serum from 21 patients with fulminant hepatic failure ( Table 1 ).