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The rate of liver disease progression with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is well characterized in adults but not in children. Although most study data from Asia and Europe suggest that liver disease progression in children with HCV infection is very slow, data from several U.S. studies indicate that it is still a risk.
In the current retrospective study, investigators compared histologic findings from repeat biopsies in 44 treatment-naive children with HCV infection who were enrolled in a larger randomized treatment trial. Data were from two biopsies taken at least 1 year apart (mean time interval, 5.8±3.5 years). HCV infection was contracted via vertical transmission in 57% of children and via blood transfusion in the rest (except for 2…