Related Conference Materials   Program & Abstracts (PDF file, 320K)   NLM Bibliography   List of Publications Related to this Consensus Conference Management of Hepatitis C March 24-26, 1997 Vol. 15, No. 3 Hepatitis C is a common infection with variable course that can lead to chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. The course of illness may be adversely affected by various factors, especially alcohol consumption. Therefore, more than one drink per day is strongly discouraged in patients with hepatitis C, and abstinence from alcohol is recommended. Initial therapy with interferon alfa (or equivalent) should be 3 million units three times per week for 12 months. Patients not responding to therapy after 3 months should not receive further treatment with interferon alone, but should be considered for combination therapy of interferon and ribavirin or for enrollment in investigational studies. Individuals infected with the hepatitis C virus should not donate blood, organs, tissues, or semen. Safe sexual practices, including the use of latex condoms, is strongly encouraged for individuals with multiple sexual partners. Expansion of needle exchange programs should be considered in an effort to reduce the rate of transmission of hepatitis C among injection drug users. Read full NIH Consensus Statement Download full NIH Consensus Statement (PDF file, 352K) Declaración de Consenso del NIH en Español (PDF file, 160K) NOTE: NIH Consensus Statements are prepared by a nonadvocate, non-Federal panel of experts, based on (1) presentations by investigators working in areas relevant to the consensus questions during a 2-day public session; (2) questions and statements from conference attendees during open discussion periods that are part of the public session; and (3) closed deliberations by the panel during the remainder of the second day and morning of the third. This statement is an independent report of the panel and is not a policy statement of the NIH or the Federal Government. The statement reflects the panel’s assessment of medical knowledge available at the time the statement was written. Thus, it provides a "snapshot in time" of the state of knowledge on the conference topic. When reading the statement, keep in mind that new knowledge is inevitably accumulating through medical research.
Go to: --Choose one-- NEWS AND UPCOMING ACTIVITIES ..News Releases CONSENSUS STATEMENTS ..by Date ..by Subject TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT STATEMENTS CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION ABOUT THE PROGRAM ..Frequently Asked Questions ..OMAR Staff Directory SEARCH NIH Home Page | Consensus Page | NLM HSTAT Home Page