Table 2.

Clinical characteristics at the time of registration of 826 patients with hepatitis C virus

Characteristic	No (%) of patients
Concentration of serum liver transaminases:
Substantially raised*	120 (14.5)
Mildly raised†	182 (22.0)
Raised‡	5 (0.6)
Within normal range	451 (54.6)
Not known	68 (8.2)
Physical signs or symptoms of liver disease:
Severe liver disease	34 (4.1)
Liver tumour	1 (0.1)
Varices	9 (1.1)
Ascites	7 (0.8)
Splenomegaly	17 (2.1)
Mild liver disease	81 (9.8)
No physical signs or symptoms	640 (77.5)
Not known	71 (8.6)
Results of liver biopsy§:
Biopsy taken	362 (43.8)
Cirrhosis	35 (9.7)
Chronic hepatitis	270 (74.6)
Minimal change	23 (6.4)
Normal	26 (7.2)
Not known	8 (2.2)
Biopsy not performed	408 (49.4)
Not known if biopsied	56 (6.8)

^*Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) or aspartate aminotransferase (AST) >twice the upper limit of normal. 

^†ALT or AST one to two times the upper limit of normal. 

^‡ALT or AST reported as abnormal, but degree unknown. 

^§Percentages are of patients who had a biopsy.