Chronic hepatitis C infection is a common cause of liver morbidity and mortality across the world, in part due to complications including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The advent of Direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy has the potential to change the outcome of HCV infection in the vast majority of patients. Unfortunately, the chronic nature of HCV infection means that many patients requiring direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy have already developed compensated cirrhosis. This chapter reviews the importance of DAAs in the treatment of HCV infection, particularly in patients with existing compensated cirrhosis. Both efficacy and safety are discussed as essential endpoints of DAA therapy. Decompensated cirrhosis, treatment failures, vitamin-D deficiency, HIV co-infection, and ethnic differences in the context of treatment response are also discussed in this chapter.
Part of the book: Hepatitis B and C