Treatment of hepatitis
Hepatitis is a manageable disease and has two main options of treatment which are:
1) Medications that are mainly antiviral and anti-inflammatory are the first line of treatment for hepatitis. antiviral drugs proved their effectiveness in lowering the viral load to a neglectable level. Although HCV has no vaccine antiviral ribavirin and pegylated interferon could suppress the virus remarkably. Antivirals such as tenofovir (Viread), lamivudine (Epivir), and entecavir (Baraclude) are useful in preventing any further damage in the liver by HBV. Anti-inflammatory drugs and analgesics are also used in case of the presence of fever or pain.
2) The surgical option is the last resort for patients with severe liver damage or liver failure. Liver transplantation is pretty costly yet its survival rate is reasonable. Studies estimated that 75 of patients who had their liver transplanted lived more than 5 years.
