Hepatitis C and end-stage liver disease

Cirrhosis secondary to infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is one of the leading causes of end-stage liver disease worldwide. The World Health Organization estimates that about 3% of the world population is chronically infected with HCV, with about 4 million infected individuals in the United States. Despite the declining US incidence of HCV, the complications of chronic HCV infection are rising rapidly. The cirrhosis can be classified as compensated or decompensated based on clinical complications. Compensated HCV-related cirrhosis can be treated safely per American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases guidelines. Treatment of decompensated HCV-related cirrhosis is challenging secondary to increased risk of complications and adverse effects during the course of antiviral therapy. The recommended treatment is the low, but accelerating dose regimen. HCV-related cirrhosis is associated with complications including ascites, variceal bleeding, renal insufficiency, hepatic encephalopathy, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Because of its poor prognosis, liver transplantation is the only definitive therapy for decompensated cirrhosis. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.