Ministry of Health of Ukraine solidified updated standards of medical care for adults and children suffering from viral hepatitis C. The improvements are aimed at increasing access to screening, diagnosis and treatment by simplifying the patient journey, reducing the number of mandatory examinations and implementing the most modern evidence-based approaches to monitoring and therapy.
The new standards provide for the simplification of the diagnostic process — the list of tests required before and during treatment has been reduced. Genotyping of the virus is now performed only for medical reasons. Patients who have successfully undergone treatment no longer need to be under regular medical supervision, except in cases of fibrosis or cirrhosis of the liver.
The list of people at increased risk who are recommended to be tested for hepatitis C has been expanded. It includes people who live with infected people or have sexual contact with them, donors and recipients of organs, pregnant women, patients preparing for oncological treatment or immunosuppression, people with liver cirrhosis and others.
The updated standards provide for the possibility of using high-quality generics recommended by the WHO for the treatment of children over 12 years old. The main drug is the sofosbuvir/velpatasvir combination, which is effective for any virus genotype. It is allowed to be used both in adults and in children, provided that licensed generic forms are used.
Improved treatment algorithms take into account the needs of patients with chronic renal failure, HIV, decompensated or compensated cirrhosis, those who have had unsuccessful treatment in the past, as well as pregnant women and children. As a result of the changes, patients will be able to start therapy faster, undergo fewer examinations and visit the doctor less often, and doctors will receive clear instructions to help in the most difficult clinical situations.
The standards are developed in accordance with the current recommendations of the WHO, the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) and the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). Their creation was coordinated by specialists of the Public Health Center and the State Expert Center together with leading infectious diseases doctors, gastroenterologists and epidemiologists.
