Hanif FM, Majid Z, Luck NH, Tasneem AA, Laeeq SM, Mubarak M. Revolution in the diagnosis and management of hepatitis C virus infection in current era. World J Hepatol 2022; 14(4): 647-669 [PMID: 35646260 DOI: 10.4254/wjh.v14.i4.647]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Muhammed Mubarak, FCPS, Professor, Department of Histopathology, Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation , Karachi 74200, Sindh, Pakistan. drmubaraksiut@yahoo.com
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Frontier
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (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/
World J Hepatol. Apr 27, 2022; 14(4): 647-669 Published online Apr 27, 2022. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v14.i4.647
Revolution in the diagnosis and management of hepatitis C virus infection in current era
Farina M Hanif, Zain Majid, Nasir Hassan Luck, Abbas Ali Tasneem, Syed Muddasir Laeeq, Muhammed Mubarak
Farina M Hanif, Zain Majid, Nasir Hassan Luck, Abbas Ali Tasneem, Syed Muddasir Laeeq, Department of Hepatogastroenterology, Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation , Karachi 74200, Sindh, Pakistan
Muhammed Mubarak, Department of Histopathology, Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation , Karachi 74200, Sindh, Pakistan
Author contributions: Farina M Hanif, Zain Majid, Nasir Hassan Luck, Abbas Ali Tasneem, Syed Muddasir Laeeq, Muhammed Mubarak and Luck NL conceived the study; Tasneem AA and Laeeq SM designed the study; Hanif FM and Majid Z performed the research; all authors participated in primary and final drafting; all authors have read and approve the final manuscript; all authors significantly contributed to the study.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
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: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Muhammed Mubarak, FCPS, Professor, Department of Histopathology, Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation , Karachi 74200, Sindh, Pakistan. drmubaraksiut@yahoo.com
Received: August 15, 2021 Peer-review started: August 15, 2021 First decision: December 16, 2021 Revised: February 5, 2022 Accepted: April 2, 2022 Article in press: April 2, 2022 Published online: April 27, 2022
Abstract
Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major global public health problem, particularly in developing part of the world. Significant advances have been made in the early diagnosis and treatment of the disease. Its management has been particularly revolutionized during the past two decades. In this review, we summarize the major advances in the diagnostic and management armamentarium for chronic HCV infection. The focus of the present review is on the newer directly acting anti-viral agents, which have revolutionized the management of chronic HCV infection. Management of uncomplicated chronic HCV infection and of specific complications and special at-risk populations of patients will be covered in detail. Despite the advent and approval of highly effective and well tolerable oral agents, still many challenges remain, particularly the affordability, the equitable distribution and access to later drugs. The World Health Organization aims to eliminate viral hepatitis including HCV by 2030 since its poses a major public health threat. There is an urgent need to ensure uniform and early access to diagnostic and therapeutic facilities throughout the world if the later goal has to be realized.
Core Tip: Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major public health threat worldwide, particularly in resource-constrained countries. Although significant advances have been made in the early diagnosis and treatment of the disease, many unmet challenges remain to be tackled, particularly the affordability, equitable distribution and access to these methods. The World Health Organization aims to eliminate viral hepatitis including HCV by 2030. This frontier article addresses the burden of chronic HCV infection, delineates the current therapeutic options, and identifies future strategies to tackle this highly prevalent disease.
