Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C
This supplement to Federal Practitioner contains the fifth version of the VA Treatment Recommendations for Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C. The VA has more experience with hepatitis C than any other U.S. health system. Some 180,000 veterans with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection were cared for by the VA in fiscal year 2002.
These recommendations were prepared by experts from the VA's National Hepatitis C Program, Hepatits C Resource Centers, and Hepatitis C Resource Advisory Group. The first version was developed after the 1997 National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Development Conference on hepatitis C. This latest version includes the newest FDA-approved HCV therapies and reflects the June 2002 NIH Consensus Statement. The recommendations are the result of an extensive review of published data; CDC recommendations for identifying, counseling, testing, and referring people at risk for HCV infection; and input from thought leaders involved in the care of veterans with HCV infection.