Current Management Of Hepatitis C Virus An Issue Of Clinics In Liver Disease

Clinical information about Hepatitis C is quickly outdated, so Dr. Poordad has assembled expert authors to provide state-of-the-art clinjcal reviews for hepatologists. This issue is uniquely organized to present articles based on therapeutic regimens for certain types of patients: Regimens for the Treatment-Naïve Patient; Regimens for Treatment of the Interferon-Failure Patient; Regimens for DAA Failure Patients; Regimens for the Cirrhotic Patient; Regimens for the Peri-Transplant Patient; Regimens for the HIV-Co-Infected Patient; and Next-generation Regimens: The Future of HCV Therapy. This presentation will be very clinically relevant for the practicing hepatologist.

Hepatitis C infection can be an acute or chronic illness and is the most common cause of liver disease in the US. It often goes undiagnosed until significant organ damage has occurred. This issue of the ID Clinics discusses the staging of liver disease, treatments for those newly diagnosed, and those who are dealing with chronic illness, along with managing drug therapy and virus resistance.

In collaboration with Consulting Editor, Dr. Norman Gitlin, Dr. Tarek Hassanein has assembled top experts in hepatology to bring current information on the topic of Hepatitis B Virus. The issue provides the most current information on the prevention and care of infected patients. Specific articles are devoted to the following topics: Global perspective on HBV infections in the era of effective vaccines; Understanding the natural history of HBV infection and the new definitions of cure and the endpoints of clinical trials; HBV/HCV coinfection in the era of HCV-DAAs; Antiretroviral effects on HBV/HIV coinfection and the natural history of liver disease; Impact of HBV infection on HCC and liver transplantation; HBV in pregnant women and their infants; WHO guidelines for prevention, care and treatment of individuals infected with HBV: A US perspective; Reconciling the difference between the major HBV treatment guidelines: AASLD, EASL, APASL; HBV/HDV coinfection: A challenge for therapeutics; and The effects of hepatic steatosis on the natural history of HBV infection. Readers will come away with the current information they need to manage patient outcomes.

Dr. Pockros has created a clinically focused issue based on the CONO 2012 meeting, whereby he was able to have those presenters write articles for his issue. Therefore, the content for HCV in this issue reflects the most current knowledge. The issue is focused on basic/current information, current therapy and special populations, triple and quad combination therapies in development, and an article on second generation protease inhibitors. The reader can expect that this issue will provide thorough clinical reviews on the most current therapeutic options for HCV.

This issue offers the latest information regarding the transmission of hepatitis viruses in various healthcare settings. It delves with a very timely and interesting patient safety subject that specifically targets healthcare professionals, gastroenterologists, hepatologists, oncologists, dentists and all healthcare workers to adopt and share a variety of best practices to prevent this adverse event. Well known faculty in liver disease, infection control as well as a medical practice in a legal setting have been assembled to produce a comprehensive and concise edition that highlights the latest information regarding hepatitis B and C transmission in healthcare. It aims to provide an overview on the molecular epidemiology, the outbreak reports, the transmission in hemodialysis, endoscopy, dental, oncology, management, legal aspects and the infection prevention measures to reduce the risk of needless exposure of patients to these blood borne pathogens.

There are over 180 million people with chronic HCV infection worldwide with between 2.7 and 3.9 million in the United States. Hepatitis C most significantly affects Asia and Africa, with rates up to 15% in countries such as Egypt and up to 30% in certain regions such as Punjab, Pakistan. Hepatitis C places a significant burden on the public health infrastructure, as it remains the leading cause of chronic liver disease, accounting for 50-75% of primary liver cancers and is responsible for 30% of all liver transplantations. It is estimated to have cost the United States $5.5 billion in 1997, comparable to the national cost of asthma, $5.8 billion in 1994.This number is only expected to grow as the current HCV population ages, increasing overall rates of compensated cirrhosis/end-stage liver disease. The evolution of directly acting anti-virals has ushered in a new era for chronic hepatitis C. Ongoing drug development strategy has involved targeting several replication steps of the virus and the hope is to see all oral therapies by late 2014 or early 2015. Thus we are at an exciting cross roads with regard to new information and challenges with HCV: rising disease burden with associated high costs, the challenges globally and in multiple patient populations, and the impending availability of effective and well tolerated treatments. Therefore there is a need to commission an exclusive issue of GCNA for HCV.

In this issue of Clinics in Liver Disease, guest editor Mitchell L Shiffman brings considerable expertise to the topic of Challenging Issues in the Management of Chronic Hepatitis B Virus. Provides in-depth, clinical reviews on the latest updates in Challenging Issues in the Management of Chronic Hepatitis B Virus, providing actionable insights for clinical practice. Presents the latest information on this timely, focused topic under the leadership of experienced editors in the field; Authors synthesize and distill the latest research and practice guidelines to create these timely topic-based reviews.

Hepatitis C infection can be an acute or chronic illness and is the most common cause of liver disease in the US. It often goes undiagnosed until significant organ damage has occurred. This issue of the ID Clinics discusses the staging of liver disease, treatments for those newly diagnosed, and those who are dealing with chronic illness, along with managing drug therapy and virus resistance.