Author/Editor		Seme, Katja; Poljak, Mario; Meško, Karmen M; Fujs, Kristina; Babič, Dunja Z; Močilnik, Tina
Title		Microbiological monitoring of chronic viral hepatitis
Type		članek
Source		In: Ferlan-Marolt V, Luzar B, editors. Viral hepatitis. Proceedings of the 35th memorial meeting to professor Janez Plečnik with international participation; 2004 Dec 2-3; Ljubljana. Ljubljana: Faculty of medicine, Institute of pathology,
Publication year		2004
Volume		str. 158-73
Language		eng
Abstract		Close virological monitoring of patients with chronic hepatitis B and C is important for the determination of disease stage and progression, for assessing the need for treatment and for monitoring the antiviral therapy response. Virological tests for monitoring chronic infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) include serological tests, nucleic acid techniques for the detection of HBV DNA, tests for the determination of resistance of HBV to antiviral agents, tests for the determination of HBV genotype, and tests for the determination of different mutations in HBV genome. HBV DNA viral load tests are the most important tools for the management of patients with chronic hepatitis B. They are used for the management of anti-HBe positive patients (distinction of the inactive HBsAg carriers from the patients with chronic HBeAg-negative hepatitis), for the decision to treat and selection of optimal antiviral therapy, and for monitoring the effectiveness of HBV antiviral treatment. Virological tests for monitoring chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection include qualitative and quantitative nucleic acid techniques for the detection of HCV RNA, test for the quantitative determination of HCV core antigen, and methods for the determination of HCV genotype. The patients with chronic hepatitis C that are not considered for antiviral therapy should be followed up mainly using non-microbiological methods. When antiviral combination therapy with pegylated interferon-alpha and ribavirin is considered in chronic hepatitis C patients, the HCV genotype has to be determined first, as it determines the duration of treatment and the dose of ribavirin. During the antiviral therapy, it is recommended to determine the end of treatment response and the sustained viral response in all treated patients. Additionally, in the patients infected with HCV genotype 1 or 4, the early viral response should be determined. (Abstract truncated at 2000 characters).
Descriptors		HEPATITIS, VIRAL, HUMAN HEPATITIS, CHRONIC ACTIVE HEPATITIS B HEPATITIS B E ANTIGENS HEPATITIS B SURFACE ANTIGENS DNA, VIRAL ANTIVIRAL AGENTS DRUG RESISTANCE, MICROBIAL GENOTYPE HEPATITIS C RNA, VIRAL