Hepatitis C Management

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Question:

Should a liver biopsy be obtained for all newly diagnosed patients with hepatitis C?

This question is discussed in detail in the monograph. Most of the Experts on this panel recommend a liver biopsy in patients with HCV if the results will affect management in any meaningful way. Knowledge about the presence (or complete absence) of fibrosis on biopsy often changes the management of HCV-infected individuals. Decisions about antiviral treatment and screening for hepatocellular carcinoma are two examples that liver biopsy information provides. Indirect tests of liver fibrosis such as the (FibroTest) and liver “stiffness” (FibroScan) may reduce the need for liver biopsy.

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