الفهرس 
introductionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
 |  | from | 227 |  |  |
| | | from | 227 | | |
Abstract
evaluate the impact of proper assessment and evaluation of chronic hepatitis C virus infected patients for proper management and their impaction on treatment outcome and limitation of adverse effects.
The World Health Organization has declared hepatitis C a global health problem with approximately 130-170 million people (roughly 3% of the world’s population) are chronically infected with hepatitis C virus.
In Egypt the situation is worse, prevalence of hepatitis C ranging from 6% to more than 40% with an average is around 13.8-20% among regions and demographic groups. So we need effective therapies to treat hepatitis C virus infection and individual optimizing treatment regimens.
Antiviral therapy namely pegylated interferon with ribavirin is the cornerstone of treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection which is generally accepted in patients with all of the following characteristics: at least 18 years of age, HCV RNA detectable in the serum, liver biopsy with chronic hepatitis and significant fibrosis, compensated liver disease, no evidence of hepatic encephalopathy or ascites, acceptable hematological and biochemical indices, and no contraindications to treatment
Therapy is contraindicated in patients who have one or more of the following: Major, uncontrolled depressive illness, a kidney, heart, or lung transplant, Autoimmune hepatitis or other conditions known to be exacerbated by interferon or ribavirin, untreated thyroid disease, severe concurrent disease such as severe hypertension, heart failure, significant coronary artery disease, poorly controlled diabetes, obstructive pulmonary disease, known hypersensitivity to drugs used to treat HCV, less than two years of age, and pregnant, contemplating pregnancy (including men), or unwilling to assure contraception.
On the other hand there are patient populations which therapy can be advisable regardless of the recommendations such as: patients who failed prior treatment, current users of illicit drugs or alcohol who are willing to participate in a substance abuse program, liver biopsy without fibrosis or with only mild fibrosis, and