title: Acute hepatitis C: clinical and laboratory diagnosis, course of the disease, treatment.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Acute hepatitis C (AHC) is asymptomatic in about 70-80 % of cases and, therefore, is usually undiagnosed. Although the clinical course is typically mild, AHC has a high rate of transition to chronicity.
  
  
  METHODS
  We evaluated the literature data concerning risk factors for HCV transmission, diagnosis, natural history, and antiviral treatment of AHC.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Although new methods have been developed, anti-HCV seroconversion remains the gold standard for the diagnosis of AHC. This phenomenon, however, is identifiable in less than half of cases in the everyday clinical practice, since most AHC patients do not know their previous anti-HCV/HCV-RNA status. An early short-term interferon treatment in AHC patients prevents progression to chronicity in most of treated patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The literature data give evidence of the clinical relevance of an early diagnosis of AHC for an early short-term interferon treatment. There is also the suggestion to use newly developed laboratory methods to distinguish AHC from an acute exacerbation of a chronic HCV infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mental Health and Public Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Second University of Naples, via L. Armanni, No. 3, 80135, Naples, Italy, evangelista.sagnelli@unina2.it.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sagnelli
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Santantonio
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Coppola
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fasano
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pisaturo
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sagnelli
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology* / Q000635:transmission; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D007372:Interferons / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D007372:Interferons