Original scientific paper

https://doi.org/10.20471/acc.2023.62.04.15

Aspartate Aminotransferase and Gamma-Glutamyl Transferase: Intriguing Clinical Biomarkers in Discrimination of Hepatic Lesion between Hepatitis C Infected Patients and Healthy Controls

Biljana Ilkovska orcid.org/0000-0002-6287-3830 ; Bitola Clinical Hospital, Department of Medical Biochemistry, Bitola, North Macedonia
Bisera Kotevska Trifunova ; Аdzibadem Citi Clinic YMBAL Tokuda, Department of Dermatovenereology, Sofia, Bulgaria
Maja Avramovska orcid.org/0000-0003-1129-1205 ; Bitola Clinical Hospital, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Bitola, North Macedonia
Biljana Taleva ; Department of Pediatric Surgery, Mother Teresa University Center, Skopje, North Macedonia
Stefan Talev ; Bitola Clinical Hospital, Department of Surgery, Bitola, North Macedonia
Kosta Sotiroski orcid.org/0000-0002-4005-0526 ; Faculty of Economics in Prilep, St. Klement Ohridski University, Bitola, North Macedonia
Petar Avramovski orcid.org/0000-0002-6287-3830 ; Bitola Clinical Hospital, Department of Internal Medicine, Bitola, North Macedonia *

* Corresponding author.

Abstract

Over 1.5 million new cases of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection occur each
year, infecting an estimated 58 million people worldwide. We aimed to find differences in peripheral
blood count, liver enzymes and degradation products between HCV infected and healthy controls, and
their impact on detection of the disease and discrimination of the diseased from non-diseased subjects.
We performed laboratory testing for peripheral blood count, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate
aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma-glutamyl transferase (γ-GT) and bilirubin
in 40 HCV patients and 40 healthy controls. There were statistically significant differences in leukocytes
(p=0.001), ALT (p<0.0001), AST (p<0.0001), ALP (p<0.0001), γ-GT (p<0.0001), total bilirubin
(p<0.018) and indirect bilirubin (p<0.030) between the HCV infected and control groups. On multiple
regression, the independent variables of HCV titer (p=0.5091), granulocytes (p=0.7061) and total bilirubin
(p=0.2022) showed no impact on liver lesion estimated by a dependent variable of γ-GT. On logistic
regression, only AST [p=0.0112, odds ratio (OR)1.2161, area under the curve (AUC) 0.887] and γ-GT
(p=0.0283, OR 1.1041, AUC 0.815) showed a statistically significantly positive predicting value when
discriminating healthy subjects and diseased patients. In conclusion, HCV titer, granulocytes and total
bilirubin did not show a statistically significant impact on hepatic lesion expressed by γ-GT, whereas only
AST and γ-GT showed a statistically significant positive predicting value to discriminate infected patients
from healthy controls. Each unit increase in AST and γ-GT resulted in 21.6% and 10.4% higher possibility
of HCV infection, respectively.

Keywords

Hepatitis C virus (HCV); Aspartate aminotransferase; Gamma-glutamyl transferase; HCV titer; Liver enzymes

Hrčak ID:

320305

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/320305

Publication date:

31.12.2023.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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