title: [Hepatitis C: who should be treated?].
abstract: The goals of treatment for hepatitis C are eradication of viral infection and prevention of progression to end-stage liver disease. To decide on whom to treat, it is necessary to consider the following parameters: stage of disease, comorbidity, patient age, probability of therapeutic success, contraindications, and therapy associated risks. Therapy is recommended in patients with elevated ALT levels, patients with normal ALT level and at least F2 METAVIR score, nonresponders to standard interferon monotherapy, patients with compensated liver cirrhosis, and patients with acute infection. It is possible to treat patients with HBV and HIV co-infection, patients with severe extrahepatic manifestations of HCV infection, and patients with transplanted liver. Drug users and alcoholics can be treated after 12-month abstinence. Therapy is not recommended in patients with fulminant hepatitis, patients with persistently normal ALT levels without fibrosis, kidney transplant recipients, and pregnant women.
authors.affiliation: Gastroenteroloski odjel, Klinika za internu medicinu, Klinicki bolnicki centar Rijeka, Rijeka, Hrvatska. davor.stimac@ri.htnet.hr
authors.forename: Davor
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stimac
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Milić
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000175:diagnosis; D018579:Patient Selection
chemical_list: D000410:Alanine Transaminase