Increased Mortality Among Persons With Chronic Hepatitis C With Moderate or Severe Liver Disease: A Cohort Study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Despite the availability of curative treatment for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, because of cost, treatment is often denied until liver fibrosis has progressed to at least moderate fibrosis and, in some cases, cirrhosis. That practice is justified on assumptions that there are no medical consequences to having moderate disease and that disease stage transitions can be anticipated.

Methods

We performed transient elastography on 964 people chronically infected with HCV with a history of injection drug use living in Baltimore, Maryland. Liver stiffness was evaluated semiannually from 2006 to 2014 using validated cutoffs for moderate fibrosis (8.0-12.3 kPa) and severe fibrosis/cirrhosis (>12.3 kPa).

Results

Among 964 persons, 62%, 23% and 15% had baseline

SUBMITTER: Cepeda JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5850450 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature