Polyarteritis nodosa associated with hepatitis C virus

BACKGROUND: To study the seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus in a cohort of six patients with a diagnosis of polyarteritis nodosa (PAN). METHODS: There have been included six patients with a diagnosis of PAN, carrying out a serodiagnosis of hepatitis B virus (VHB) and C (VHC) this last one by means of the following methods: ELISA, RIBA-II and PCR. RESULTS: These cases (50%) showed exclusive positivity to VHC by means of the three ways of diagnosis, two cases showed positivity to VHB (33.3%), one case (16.6%) showed positivity to both virus (VHB and (VHC) and one case didn't show positivity virus. CONCLUSIONS: It is probable a ethipatogenic relation between hepatitis C virus and polyarteritis nodosa, our sample doesn't show any difference from that written in the literature. The positive rheumatoid factors can give false positive for VHC by means of the technique ELISA because of this it is necessary to confirm the positive by means of the techniques RIBA-II and PCR.