Hepatitis C virus infection in psoriatic arthritis

Objective. To evaluate the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA), compared with patients affected by non HCV-related rheumatic degenerative disorders. Methods. One-hundred consecutive subjects with PsA, and a statistically comparable group of 100 consecutive patients with peripheral osteoarthritis (OA) or sciatica due to L4-L5 or L5-S1 herniated disc were tested for HCV infection with a third-generation microparticle enzyme immunoassay (MEIA). Positive cases were submitted to a third-generation recombinant immunoblot assay (RIBA) confirmatory test. Comparison between the HCV prevalence obtained in the 2 enrolled groups was performed using Fisher's exact test. Results. Anti-HCV antibodies were found with the MEIA method, in 1 patient with PsA, and in 4 patients with OA or sciatica. The RIBA method confirmed MEIA results in all positive patients. The difference in HCV prevalence detected in the PsA group and in the control group was not statistically significant (P = 0.68). Furthermore, HCV prevalence in PsA patients was lower than the ones reported in different geographic areas of Italy. Conclusion. Our present report does not confirm previous data that indicated an increased prevalence of HCV in PsA patients, and as a consequence, does not sustain a possible trigger role of HCV in cases of PsA. The absence of clinical or instrumental resources that consent a definite differential diagnosis between PsA and HCV-related arthritis was outlined and analyzed.