Background and Aims: Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is very common in Egypt. There is no available data about frequency of chronic HCV infection in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) or effect of this infection on UC. We carried out this study to answer such questions.

Methods: We prospectively analyzed 44 patients with UC from Tropical Medicine and Gastroenterology Department, Assiut University Hospital. For all participants, the following was conducted: clinical evaluation, abdominal ultrasonography (US) examination, and laboratory investigations. Differences in UC disease severity and distribution between patients with chronic HCV infection and those without were identified using univariate analysis.

Results: Frequency of chronic HCV infection was 25% among study patients. Univariate analysis showed a significantly lower (p <0.05) severe UC activity index and higher moderate index in UC patients with chronic HCV infection than in those without.

Conclusions: We found that frequency of chronic HCV infection among Egyptian patients with UC is similar to that among general population. Chronic HCV infection was associated with less severe activity index of UC suggesting an inhibitory role of HCV on UC activity.