Hepatitis C Management

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Question:

Once hepatitis C is diagnosed, is it necessary to order more tests to rule out other hepatic diseases before beginning treatment?

Given the similarity of route of transmission, excluding HBV is important. Also, autoimmune hepatitis is rarely exacerbated with interferon. Therefore, I would obtain appropriate autoimmune and hepatitis B markers. Additional tests may be patient-specific. For example, all males and postmenopausal females should be checked for iron overload. Young patients should be checked for Wilson’s disease. Because HIV has the same route of transmission as HCV, it also should be tested for in HCV patients.

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