Page 79 - The Flying Publisher Guide to Hepatitis C Treatment

Management of recurrent HCV infection following liver transplantation | 79

5. Management of recurrent HCV

infection following liver
transplantation

Speranṭa Iacob, Liana Gheorghe and Irinel Popescu

Natural history of recurrent HCV infection after
liver transplantation

Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) is a worldwide health problem and,
despite a decline in the incidence of new HCV infections, the
prevalence of cirrhosis and the incidence of its complications
will not peak until the year 2040 (Davis 2003). CHC has become
the leading indication for both cadaveric and living donor liver
transplantation (LT), accounting for approximately 50% of cases
in the United States, Europe and Japan.
Demand does not slow down because of the constant increase
of the number of patients with HCV end-stage liver disease
(ESLD) and HCH.
Unfortunately, HCV infection invariably recurs after LT and the
natural course of the disease is accelerated compared to the non-
transplant setting. The influence of HCV infection on allograft
histology is highly variable, but at least 50% of recipients
develop histological evidence of recurrent disease within 1 year