Published online Dec 28, 2007. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v13.i48.6455
Revised: October 19, 2007
Accepted: October 26, 2007
Published online: December 28, 2007
More than 170 million people worldwide have chronic hepatitis C. Acute hepatitis C is rarely diagnosed because it is commonly asymptomatic. Most infected patients are unaware of their condition until the symptoms of chronic infection manifest. Treatment of acute hepatitis C is something of a paradox because spontaneous resolution is possible and many patients do not have symptoms. However, several factors provide a rationale for treating patients who have acute hepatitis C. Compared with acute hepatitis C, chronic hepatitis C is associated with a worse prognosis, the need for more intensive treatment, longer treatment duration, and a decrease in successful treatment outcomes. Conversely, early intervention is associated with improved viral eradication, using a regimen that is better tolerated, less expensive, more convenient, and of shorter duration than the currently approved combination therapies for chronic hepatitis C.