Background:Appreciation of serum concentration of prothrombin complex factors is a very sensitive indicator of liver synthesis activity.It is also a very valuable way to estimate the stage and seriousness of inflammatory processes,a toxic damage and the cirrhosis of liver.The aim of this study was to assess the serum concentration of F1+2 in patients with liver cirrhosis developed during HCV infection and in patients with chronic hepatitis C infection.Material/Methods:The study group consisted of 52 patients hospitalised at the Department of Infectious Diseases of Medical University of Lublin, Poland. Among them,18 patients (8 men and 10 women),aged 19 –59 years,had a stable liver cirrhosis and 34 patients (21 men and 13 women),aged 20 –41 years,were diagnosed with chronic hepatitis C infection.The diagnosis of liver cirrhosis in the course of HCV infection was made on the presence of HCV RNA in serum in RT-PCR and on the liver biopsy results in Child-Plough classification.All patients with CHC met the criteria for standard antiviral therapy and they began to be treated with interferon alpha and Ribavirin,without having any concomitant diseases.The control group consisted of 25 healthy individuals (13 men and 12 women),aged 19 –60 years.Blood samples were obtained from ulnar veins of patients being on empty stomach into the tubes containing 3.8%solution of citric acid diluted 1:10.They were then centrifuged for 15 minutes at the speed of 1500/min and room temperature.The plasma was kept at a temperature of –40 °C before being tested.The serum concentration of F1+2 was determined by the immunoenzymatic assay Enzygnost F1+2 micro.The obtained data were statistically evaluated with Kolmogorow-Smirnow test assuming 5%risk of conclusion error. Results:The serum concentration of F1+2 was 1.1+0.6 nmol/l in the control group,1.078+0.485 nmol/l in the cirrhotic patients and 1.438+784 nmol/l in the patients with CHC. There were no statistically significant differences in the serum concentration of F1+2 between cirrhotic patients and controls (p>0.05).Similarly,the differences observed in the F1+2 levels in patients with CHC and controls were not statistically important (p>0.05).No statistically significant differences were observed in the F1+2 serum concentration between patients with cirrhosis and CHC (p>0.05).In general,elevated serum levels of F1+2,above 1.7 nmol/l,were observed in every third patient, however, more often in patients with CHC (35.3%) than in cirrhotic patients (16.7%). Conclusions: 1.There were no statistically significant differences observed in serum concentration of F1+2,both in patients with stable cirrhosis and with CHC,compared to controls.2.However in 16.7%of patients with cirrhosis and in 35.3%of patients with CHC elevated serum levels of F1+2 were observed.

Keywords: prothrombin fragment 1+2 (F1+2), Liver Cirrhosis, chronic hepatitis C infection