Hepatitis c

Abdomen | Hematology | Hepatitis c (Disease)


Description

Hepatitis C (HCV) is one of the most important causes of chronic liver disease around the globe. HCV is responsible for about 20% of acute hepatitis, 60-70% of chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis or almost 30% of the final stages of liver disease and liver cancer. A major feature of acute hepatitis C is a tendency to develop into chronic liver disease. At least 75% of patients with acute hepatitis C ultimately develop chronic infection. Many patients with chronic hepatitis C are completely asymptomatic. When symptoms are present, are usually mild, nonspecific and intermittent.

Symptoms include: Fatigue; Tenderness or discomfort in the right hypochondrium (below the ribs on the right); Nausea; Loss of appetite (decreased appetite); Muscle pain; Joint pain.

Physical examination may be normal or may reveal tenderness or hepatomegaly mild liver (liver increase in size). Some patients have vascular stars (red spots form a star) or palmar erythema (hand stained red).

Causes and Risk factors

Hepatitis C infection is an infection of the liver caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV). It is difficult for the human immune system to eliminate HCV from the body, and infection with HCV usually becomes chronic.

Diagnosis and Treatment

The goals of HCV treatment are to remove the virus from the blood and reduce the risk of cirrhosis and liver cancer that can result from long-term HCV infection. ...