Review article
Hepatitis C
Rajko Ostojić
Abstract
Infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a
major global public health problem. Unfortunately, once established,
the HCV infection persists in the vast majority of patients
(80%). The clinical course of the disease is asymptomatic, with
infection often identifi ed only on routine biochemical screening.
Chronic hepatitis implies viral infection and secondary
infl ammation that, without any signifi cant improvement, persist
for more than six months following the initial exposure. The
long-term complications of chronic hepatitis C are cirrhosis and
hepatocellular carcinoma. Therefore, the end-stage liver disease
associated with HCV infection is the most common indication for
liver transplantation around the world. The main goals in the
treatment of chronic hepatitis C are the eradication of the viral
infection and prevention of progression to the end-stage liver
disease. The current gold standard treatment is a combination
of pegylated interferon and ribavirin, which achieve a sustained
viral response in 45% to 80% of treated patients depending on
patient characteristics. Improvements in therapy caused the
increase in the costs of treatment of viral hepatitis, but with
signifi cant long-term savings in the treatment of advanced liver
disease, including liver transplantation.
Keywords
HCV infection; diagnostics; therapy
Hrčak ID:
18848
URI
Publication date:
26.1.2006.
Visits: 3.924 *