0
Sign In  | Subscribe
20 November 2007, Vol 147, No. 10>
Summaries for Patients | 20 November 2007

Sustained Virologic Response in Hepatitis C FREE

[+] Article and Author Information

The summary below is from the full report titled “Sustained Virologic Response and Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C and Advanced Fibrosis.” It is in the 20 November 2007 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine (volume 147, pages 677-684). The authors are B.J. Veldt, E.J. Heathcote, H. Wedemeyer, J. Reichen, W.P. Hofmann, S. Zeuzem, M.P. Manns, B.E. Hansen, S.W. Schalm, and H.L.A. Janssen.


Ann Intern Med. 2007;147(10):I-47. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-147-10-200711200-00001
Text Size: A A A

What is the problem and what is known about it so far?

Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver. Infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is 1 of the most common causes of hepatitis in the United States. New infection causes liver inflammation. In some patients, the inflammation resolves without treatment; in others, the inflammation does not resolve. It may stay active for a long time, slowly causing liver damage. The liver damage may progress to severe liver scarring (cirrhosis), liver failure, liver cancer, or death. Treatment of the infection can slow this progression. However, not all people respond to the treatment, and treatment has never been shown to prevent the complications of chronic infection.

Why did the researchers do this particular study?

To see whether response to HCV treatment is associated with fewer complications of HCV infection.

Who was studied?

479 persons with chronic HCV infection and scarring of the liver who were treated at 5 medical centers in Europe and Canada.

How was the study done?

The researchers treated the study participants for HCV and did tests after about 6 months to see who responded to the treatment and who did not. The researchers then followed the participants for up to 15 years to see who developed liver failure or cancer and to see who died. They then compared the frequency of those complications among participants who did and did not respond to treatment.

What did the researchers find?

Only about one third of the participants responded to treatment. However, those who responded to treatment seemed much less likely to develop liver failure and, to a lesser extent, seemed less likely to develop liver cancer or die.

What were the limitations of the study?

There were few complications in either participant group, so the researchers could not say for certain which of the complications treatment prevented most. Also, the researchers studied only persons whose doctors decided that they should be treated for infection. The reasons for not treating those people might be related to the likelihood that they would respond to treatment or develop complications, and the findings might have been different if they had been treated and included in the study.

What are the implications of the study?

Effective treatment of HCV infection seems to prevent the complications of chronic infection. This has never been demonstrated before, and it emphasizes how important treatment of HCV infection really is.

Figures

Tables

References

Letters

NOTE:
Citing articles are presented as examples only. In non-demo SCM6 implementation, integration with CrossRef’s “Cited By” API will populate this tab (http://www.crossref.org/citedby.html).
Compression-Only CPR: Pushing the Science Forward
Cone
AAM 2010;304:1493-1495.
All you need to read in the other general jounals
BMJ 2010;341:c5893-c1494.

Comments

Submit a Comment
Submit a Comment

Summary for Patients

Clinical Slide Sets

Terms of Use

The In the Clinic® slide sets are owned and copyrighted by the American College of Physicians (ACP). All text, graphics, trademarks, and other intellectual property incorporated into the slide sets remain the sole and exclusive property of the ACP. The slide sets may be used only by the person who downloads or purchases them and only for the purpose of presenting them during not-for-profit educational activities. Users may incorporate the entire slide set or selected individual slides into their own teaching presentations but may not alter the content of the slides in any way or remove the ACP copyright notice. Users may make print copies for use as hand-outs for the audience the user is personally addressing but may not otherwise reproduce or distribute the slides by any means or media, including but not limited to sending them as e-mail attachments, posting them on Internet or Intranet sites, publishing them in meeting proceedings, or making them available for sale or distribution in any unauthorized form, without the express written permission of the ACP. Unauthorized use of the In the Clinic slide sets will constitute copyright infringement.

Toolkit

Buy This Article

to gain full access to the content and tools.

Want to Subscribe?

Learn more about subscription options

Register Now for a free account
Advertisement

Related Content

Customize your page view by dragging & repositioning the boxes below.

In the Clinic
Hepatitis C
Ann Intern Med. 2012;157(11):ITC6-1.
Hepatitis C
Ann Intern Med. 2008;148(11):ITC6-1.
Topic Collections
PubMed Articles
The Association Between Law Enforcement Encounters and Syringe Sharing Among IDUs on Skid Row: A Mixed Methods Analysis.
AIDS and behavior Issue date: 2013 Apr 26
Long-term management of HIV/hepatitis C virus associated psoriasis with etanercept.
Indian journal of dermatology, venereology and leprology Issue date: 2013 May-Jun

Annals of Internal Medicine

Other Resources

Copyright © 2013 The American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.
Print ISSN: 0003-4819 | Online ISSN: 1539-3704

Buy This Article

to gain full access to the content and tools.

Want to Subscribe?

Learn more about subscription options

Register Now for a free account
Forgot your password?
Enter your username and email address. We'll send you a reminder to the email address on record.
(Required)
(Required)