Hepatitis C and liver transplantation.
Liver transplantation is a life-saving therapy to correct liver failure, portal hypertension and hepatocellular carcinoma arising from hepatitis C infection. But despite the successful use of living donors and improvements in immunosuppression and antiviral therapy, organ demand continues to outstrip supply and recurrent hepatitis C with accelerated progression to cirrhosis of the graft is a frequent cause of graft loss and the need for retransplantation. Appropriate selection of candidates and timing of transplantation, coupled with better pre- and post-transplant antiviral therapy, are needed to improve outcomes.
Brown
Robert S
RS
Department of Medicine, and Center for Liver Disease and Transplantation, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, 622 West 168th Street, New York, New York 10032, USA. rb464@columbia.edu
D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007165:Immunosuppression Therapy; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000379:methods; D019520:Living Donors; D012008:Recurrence