title: [Monitoring patients with chronic hepatitis during and after therapy].
abstract: Hepatitis C is a major public health problem. General screening is not advisable and should be limited to risk groups. The gold standard for the assessment of disease severity is liver biopsy. AST and ALT do not correlate with histology. Serum HCV RNA by qualitative assay and HCV genotype should be determined prior to therapy. Response to antiviral therapy should be assessed by testing AST, ALT and qualitative HCV RNA. Repeat liver biopsy is not necessary. The incidence of HCC related to HCV infection is rising. Early detection by a cost effective screening program is essential. In patients with liver cirrhosis caused by hepatitis C, alpha fetoprotein and liver sonography should be done every 6 months. Upper GI endoscopy is recommended every 1-4 years in cirrhotic patients. Over 350 000 000 people are infected with HBV worldwide, and chronic HBV infection is the leading cause of liver cancer and tenth leading cause of death. HBs Ag, HBeAg and HBV DNA positive patients should be monitored for 6 months before treatment. Patients treated with antiviral therapy should be tested for HBAg, HBeAg and HBV DNA at the end of treatment and every 6 months thereafter to assess virologic response. Monitoring of serum HBV DNA is done by PCR. Patients treated with lamivudine should be tested for YMDD mutation. Ultrasound and AFP monitoring are recommended for detection of HCC, but results are not always reliable. Approximately 40% -70% of HIV infected patients have coinfection with HCV, HBV and HDV. HIV/HCV coinfected patients have an increased risk of progressive liver disease and should be treated accordingly.
authors.affiliation: Zavod za gastroenterologzju, Klinika za unutrasnje bolesti, Klinicka bolnica "Merkur", Zagreb, Hrvatska. vesnacoliccvrlje@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Vesna
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Colić-Cvrlje
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D006511:Hepatitis B Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000821:virology
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D004279:DNA, Viral; D006511:Hepatitis B Antigens