Most Patients of Hepatitis C Virus Infection in India Present Late for Interferon-Based Antiviral Treatment: An Epidemiological Study of 777 Patients from a North Indian Tertiary Care Center

摘要

BackgroundInterferon-based antiviral therapy is offered only to those HCV patients who have either chronic hepatitis or early cirrhosis. Advanced cirrhotics do not tolerate interferon-based therapy. Since HCV is asymptomatic in early stages and usually presents late, the eligibility for interferon-based therapy is thus limited. There are scarce studies from India, which looked specifically the eligibility of interferon-based therapy in HCV patients.