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World J Hepatol. Aug 27, 2020; 12(8): 485-492
Published online Aug 27, 2020. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v12.i8.485
Management of hepatitis C in children and adolescents during COVID-19 pandemic
Maria Pokorska-Śpiewak, Mateusz Śpiewak
Maria Pokorska-Śpiewak, Department of Children’s Infectious Diseases, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw 01201, Poland
Mateusz Śpiewak, National Institute of Cardiology, Warsaw 04628, Poland
Author contributions: Pokorska-Śpiewak M conducted the review of existing literature, analyzed data, and wrote the manuscript; Pokorska-Śpiewak M and Śpiewak M designed the research, revised the paper, and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interests for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Maria Pokorska-Śpiewak MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Children’s Infectious Diseases, Medical University of Warsaw, No. 37 Wolska Street, Warsaw 01201, Poland. mpspiewak@gmail.com
Received: May 28, 2020
Peer-review started: May 28, 2020
First decision: June 15, 2020
Revised: June 20, 2020
Accepted: July 26, 2020
Article in press: July 26, 2020
Published online: August 27, 2020
Abstract

In recent years, significant progress in the antiviral treatment of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) has been made due to the development of interferon-free therapies. Three different highly effective, oral direct-acting antiviral (DAA) regimens have been approved for use in adolescents with CHC between the ages of 12-years-old and 17-years-old in Europe. According to the current recommendations, all treatment-naïve and treatment-experienced children with CHC virus infection should be considered for DAA therapy to prevent the possible progression of hepatitis C virus-related liver disease and its complications. However, the novel coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak, which was classified as a pandemic in March 2020, is currently spreading throughout the world, resulting in a disruption of the healthcare system. This disruption is having a negative impact on the care of patients with chronic diseases, including children with CHC. Thus, several efforts have to be made by pediatric hepatologists to prioritize patient care in children with CHC. These efforts include promoting telemedicine in the outpatient setting, using local laboratory testing for follow-up visits, and engaging in the home delivery of DAAs for patients under antiviral therapy whenever possible.

Keywords: Children, Chronic hepatitis C, COVID-19, Direct-acting antiviral, Hepatitis C virus

Core tip: The novel coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak, classified as a pandemic, is currently spreading throughout the world, resulting in a disruption of the healthcare system. This disruption is having a negative impact on the care of patients with chronic diseases, including children with chronic hepatitis C. In this review, we describe several efforts that have to be made by pediatric hepatologists to prioritize patient care in children with chronic hepatitis C. They include promoting telemedicine in the outpatient setting, using local laboratory testing for follow-up visits, and engaging in the home delivery of drugs for patients under antiviral therapy whenever possible.