TY - JOUR
T1 - Fibromyalgia
T2 - A prominent feature in patients with musculoskeletal problems in chronic hepatitis C: A report of 12 patients
AU - Barkhuizen, André
AU - Schoepflin, Gerald S.
AU - Bennett, Robert M.
PY - 1996/8
Y1 - 1996/8
N2 - Ten female and 2 male patients with chronic hepatitis C infection had fibromyalgia as a prominent musculoskeletal problem. In 9 patients, the fibromyalgia developed a mean of 13.4 years after the hepatitis C infection. In 2 patients, the 2 diseases occurred within weeks to a few months of each other, and in 1 patient, preexisting fibromyalgia was apparently aggravated by the hepatitis C infection. All patients had a possible blood or body fluid exposure event or high risk activity: intravenous blood products in 3, occupational needle stick in 1, tattoos in 3, intravenous drug use in 3 and promiscuous sexual practices in 2. Transaminases were moderately elevated in 10 patients, and chronic active hepatitis was found in 4 patients who were biopsied. All patients had prominent fatigue. Additional features not commonly seen in fibromyalgia patients included fluctuating synovitis in 5 patients, biopsy-proven leukocytoclastic vasculitis in 5, sicca symptoms in 3, Raynaud's phenomenon in 3, and cryoglobulinemia in 2. One patient died in multi-organ failure after treatment for systemic vasculitis. Rheumatologists and internists should be aware that patients with hepatitis C infection can have fibromyalgia that occurs concomitantly with other extrahepatic manifestations of hepatitis C.
AB - Ten female and 2 male patients with chronic hepatitis C infection had fibromyalgia as a prominent musculoskeletal problem. In 9 patients, the fibromyalgia developed a mean of 13.4 years after the hepatitis C infection. In 2 patients, the 2 diseases occurred within weeks to a few months of each other, and in 1 patient, preexisting fibromyalgia was apparently aggravated by the hepatitis C infection. All patients had a possible blood or body fluid exposure event or high risk activity: intravenous blood products in 3, occupational needle stick in 1, tattoos in 3, intravenous drug use in 3 and promiscuous sexual practices in 2. Transaminases were moderately elevated in 10 patients, and chronic active hepatitis was found in 4 patients who were biopsied. All patients had prominent fatigue. Additional features not commonly seen in fibromyalgia patients included fluctuating synovitis in 5 patients, biopsy-proven leukocytoclastic vasculitis in 5, sicca symptoms in 3, Raynaud's phenomenon in 3, and cryoglobulinemia in 2. One patient died in multi-organ failure after treatment for systemic vasculitis. Rheumatologists and internists should be aware that patients with hepatitis C infection can have fibromyalgia that occurs concomitantly with other extrahepatic manifestations of hepatitis C.
KW - Fibromyalgia
KW - Hepatitis C infection
KW - Rheumatic manifestations
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U2 - 10.1097/00124743-199608000-00004
DO - 10.1097/00124743-199608000-00004
M3 - Article
C2 - 19078062
AN - SCOPUS:0029781544
VL - 2
SP - 180
EP - 184
JO - Journal of Clinical Rheumatology
JF - Journal of Clinical Rheumatology
SN - 1076-1608
IS - 4
ER -