title: Chronic viral hepatitis: diagnosis and management.
abstract: Most patients with chronic hepatitis are infected with the B or C virus. Diagnosis has been simplified with the advent of increasingly accurate assays. Treatment, however, is still less than ideal; only about 50% of patients respond to alpha-interferon, and the rate of relapse is particularly high in hepatitis C. Refinements in patient selection criteria and treatment modalities are on the horizon.
authors.affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.
authors.forename: W C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Maddrey
mesh_terms: D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D056486:Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury / Q000175:diagnosis; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy; D006521:Hepatitis, Chronic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy; D006525:Hepatitis, Viral, Human / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D016898:Interferon-alpha