Normal liver enzymes no reason to withhold antiviral therapy for chronic HCV

At Digestive Disease Week in New Orleans, Steve Flamm, MD, associate professor of medicine and medical director of liver transplantation, Northwestern University, Chicago, Ill, presented study findings indicating that patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and persistently normal liver enzymes derive as much benefit from pegylated interferon-alfa 2b plus ribavirin therapy as do patients with elevations in serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT). According to Dr Flamm, lead investigator for the study, "... a fraction of patients with normal liver enzymes do have aggressive liver disease on liver biopsy despite their liver tests being normal."