The prevalence of hepatic granulomas in chronic hepatitis C

Abstract

Objectives: Hepatic granulomas are not usual findings in chronic hepatitis C. A few studies addressing the frequency of hepatic granulomas in chronic hepatitis C reported it as less than 10%. The presence of it has been suggested to predict a favorable response to interferon treatment. Also, case reports described the development of hepatic granulomas after interferon treatment. In this study, we aimed to detect the prevalence of hepatic granulomas in chronic hepatitis C and to identify the causes other than chronic hepatitis C, if present, to search whether there is an association between the presence of granuloma and response to interferon treatment and also to see whether interferon leads to the formation of hepatic granulomas.