A RT-PCR method was developed for serological diagnosis of hepatitis C virus RNA in 36 patients with hepatic failure. Preliminary studies showed that 3 of 7 patients with chronic hepatic failure and 19 of 28 patients with subacute hepatic failure were positive for HCVRNA. HCVRNA was not detected in one ease of acute hepatic failure. The positive rate of HCVRNA was 61% on the average. All these data strongly suggested that HCV infection was the important reason of hepatic failure. The lower HBV replicating levels in HCVRNA-positive patients as compared with those without detectable HCVRNA indicated that HCV could interfere with the replication of HBV in vivo. The higher mortality rate of hepatic failures caused by HCV infecton or co-infection with HBV showed that prognosis of HCV infection was very poor and might lead to severe liver damage

it should be considered earlier for anti-viral therapy