engleski

Approaches and considerations for the succesfull treatment of HCV infection.

Treatment of hepatitis C (HCV) infection is very comprehensive and includes necessity for great efforts from the patient and the physician. This complexity is in accordance with numerous features of HCV infection itself. Many factors affect progression of HCV infection, such as patient characteristic, social factors, characteristics of virus, as well as the timing of initiation, duration and final results of the therapy. The first treatment approved for patients with chronic HCV, interferon-alfa-2b, had a sustained viral response (SVR) rate of 20%. Additionally, 80% of patients treated with interferon-based therapy experience side effects. Therefore, a patient-tailored approach with various medical disciplines working together and intervening at the right time to minimize potential obstacles was required. Consequently, with a number of interferon-free treatment options available, the problem of side effects is less significant, but important drug-drug interactions require interdisciplinary consultations. Likewise, high price of DAAs represents a major obstacle, which limits access to treatment. Guidelines and recommendations on treatment of hepatitis C have been developed to assist physicians and other healthcare providers to determine priority. The importance of patient-tailored approach and close patient-physician cooperation, with emphasis on significance of various medical disciplines working together in achieving higher SVR rates will be discussed.

HCV infection ; treatment development ; patient-tailored approach

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