Chronic Hepatitis Treatment Regimen
Chronic hepatitis, which used to be an untreatable medical condition, can now be managed with customized antiviral therapy. Despite this, patients with late-stage cirrhosis remain challenging to manage and treat even when potent nucleotide analogs are available on the market.
Long-term therapy involving nucleotide analogs can result in cirrhotic changes for patients with established liver cirrhosis. However, for patients with advanced cirrhosis who may have developed gross globular architectural distortions and portal hypertension, chronic hepatitis treatment may be ineffective altogether.
The goal of chronic hepatitis treatment in cirrhosis patients is to prevent further liver injury and slow down the progressive damage resulting in decompensation. In addition, chronic hepatitis treatment is geared toward improving liver function and reducing the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma. For cirrhotic patients, medications with high antiviral potential and high barrier to resistance are typically prescribed with Entecavir (ETV) and Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) to reduce the risk of resistance, biochemical flare, and virological breakthrough. The duration of chronic hepatitis treatment is lifelong, with cessation of therapy only possible for patients who underwent successful HBsAg seroconversion.
