Therapeutic options for HCV--management of the infected individual

Patients with chronic hepatitis C infection should be assessed by liver biopsy prior to consideration of anti-viral therapy. Patients with histologically mild disease should be observed at regular intervals and assessed with a repeat liver biopsy after an interval of 3-4 years. Those with severe disease should receive early treatment with interferon-alpha and ribavirin. The duration of therapy is determined by the genotype of the infecting virus-viral genotypes 2 and 3 require only 6 months of treatment but other genotypes should be treated for 12 months. Approximately 35-40% of treated patients will respond to therapy with a permanent cessation of viral replication and improvement in liver histology. New therapies including polyethylene glycol, PEGylated, interferons and combination regimes involving amantadine are currently under evaluation and it is hoped that improved regimes will be developed in the near future.