It is estimated that there are 71 million people infected with hepatitis C virus worldwide. Many of these patients are unaware of their disease.
With recent studies, significant progress and success has been achieved in the treatment approaches of hepatitis C disease. With current treatment options, a treatment success rate of 99% can be achieved in hepatitis C disease within 8 or 12 weeks of treatment.
Hepatitis C is one of the main causes of chronic liver disease. It can cause damage to the liver that progresses to cirrhosis (i.e. liver failure) and liver cancer.
Our current goal in hepatitis C disease is to cure the disease, that is, to get rid of the hepatitis C virus completely. If liver damage has occurred, it is possible to reverse this damage by treating hepatitis C infection. With treatment, the development of cirrhosis can be prevented in patients. Again, with current treatments, the risk of liver failure and liver cancer development is reduced. Even though we are successful in the treatment of hepatitis C disease, regular follow-up for liver cancer is required in individuals with advanced liver damage.
Although hepatitis C disease mainly causes liver damage, it should not be forgotten that it can also cause disease in other organs. Damage caused by Hepatitis C virus in non-liver organs can be reversed with Hepatitis C treatment.
Diagnosis of Hepatitis C infection is basically based on tests called anti-HCV and HCV-RNA. In societies with moderate frequency of the disease, such as our country, community screening is recommended to detect hepatitis C virus. It is appropriate to perform hepatitis C testing in health institutions and plan treatment for Hepatitis C infection, if any. In individuals with hepatitis C disease, other hepatitis factors should also be investigated, and if there are other causes of liver disease, their treatment should be planned.
Every patient with hepatitis C infection who wants to receive treatment, whether or not they have received treatment before, should be treated. Treatment should be administered without delay in individuals with advanced liver damage due to hepatitis C infection. The new generation drugs used in treatment are similar to those used by the patient for other diseases. Since it can interact with drugs, patient-specific drug selection should be made carefully. It is important to evaluate the patient's kidney functions before starting hepatitis C treatment.
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