Introduction: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections are a national health issue despite highly effective therapy and screening of the high prevalence age cohort. Since an increase in younger patients may be occurring, we evaluated HCV patients seen in our urban clinic for their demographics and treatment history.Methods: EMR charts of all 601 patients with a diagnosis of HCV seen in Wayne Health Clinics in 2019 were reviewed. Results:The HCV patients were predominantly African American (AA) (85%) with most yet to be treated (73%). AA patients were older than non-AA patients (63 vs 51years), had a greater likelihood of HCV genotype 1 (94% vs 60%) and had lower ALT values. Patients were seen and treated by both Gastroenterology (73%) and Infectious Disease (27%) physicians and SVR rates were greater than 95%. Fibrosis, as determined by serological biomarkers, was improved in AA patients who had achieved viral clearance (SVR) as compared to those who were untreated.Conclusions: AA patients were older and more likely to have genotype 1, and with less inflammation (ALT) as compared to Non-AA patients. The data confirms the continuing need to ensure linkage to all HCV patients to prevent additional HCV transmission and future liver disease manifestation. While fibrosis in our population correlates with age, there was a significant number of older AA patients with minimal fibrosis. Further evaluation of these patients may reveal a more recent acquisition versus a slower development of fibrosis over time.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.