Abstract
Chronic infections with the hepatitis B and C viruses have significant worldwide health and economic impacts. Previous treatments for hepatitis C such as interferon and ribavirin therapy were ineffective and poorly tolerated by patients. The introduction of directly acting curative antiviral therapy for hepatitis C and the wider use of nucleos(t)ide analogues for suppression of chronic Hepatitis B infection have resulted in many positive developments. Decreasing the prevalence of hepatitis B and C have concurrently reduced transmission rates and hence, the number of new infections. Antiviral treatments have decreased the rates of liver decompensation and as a result, lowered hospitalisation and mortality rates for both chronic hepatitis B and C infection. The quality of life of chronically infected patients has also been improved significantly by modern treatment. Antiviral therapy has stopped the progression of liver disease to cirrhosis in certain patient cohorts and prevented ongoing hepatocellular damage in patients with existing cirrhosis. Longer term benefits of antiviral therapy include a reduced risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma and decreased number of patients requiring liver transplantation. This review article assesses the literature and summarises the impact of modern antiviral therapy of chronic hepatitis B and C on clinical outcomes from liver disease.
RAS ID
36592
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
2021
Volume
27
Issue
29
School
School of Medical and Health Sciences
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Publisher
Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
Recommended Citation
Khoo, T., Lam, D., & Olynyk, J. K. (2021). Impact of modern antiviral therapy of chronic hepatitis B and C on clinical outcomes of liver disease. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3748/wjg.v27.i29.4831
Comments
Khoo, T., Lam, D., & Olynyk, J. K. (2021). Impact of modern antiviral therapy of chronic hepatitis B and C on clinical outcomes of liver disease. World Journal of Gastroenterology, 27(29), 4831-4845. https://doi.org/10.3748/wjg.v27.i29.4831