Abstract

PEREZ, Soledad et al. Hepatitis C treatment in the surrounding area of Buenos Aires. Medicina (B. Aires) [online]. 2021, vol.81, n.1, pp.5-8. ISSN 0025-7680.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is currently the main blood-borne viral infection. One of the main obstacles to achieving its control in Argentina is related to difficulties in accessing the diagnosis and timely treatment of infected people. We carried out this study with the aim of characterizing the HCV-infected patients who started treatment with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) and to describe the experience related to treatment. The medical records of 82 patients, 44 (53.7%) male, 37 (45.1%) female, and one (1.2%) transgender, were selected. The mean age was 49 years. We report a frequency of cirrhosis, 39%, in 32 patients, coinfection with HIV in 48 (58.5%) and with HBV in 27 (32.9%). In 52 patients (63.4%), no risk factor clearly associated with infection was observed. All completed the therapy, of them 72 (87.8%) carried out the control to confirm sustained viral response (SVR), that attained 98.6%. We conclude that universal testing should be implemented over testing based on a risk approach, and that a simplified and decentralized care criterion should be promoted, reserving specialized care for patients with decompensated cirrhosis and liver cancer.

Keywords : Hepatitis C; Universal screening; Treatment.

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