FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH MORTALITY IN HEPATITIS C PATIENTS

Hepatitis C is the major cause for progressive liver disease, and afflicts approximately 158 million individuals globally1,2. It is estimated that between 2007 and 2009, the costs of treating chronic hepatitis C patients in Brazil have been over 90 million dollars, with antiviral drugs being responsible for 88% of total costs3.Transmission occurs mainly by contact with contaminated blood and hemoderivatives, with the use of intravenous drugs being the most common risk factor. Many patients acquire the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) with no exposition to blood. Sexual transmission, considered an improbable route, can be related to sexual practices with mucous trauma and with individuals infected with HIV4. Therefore, the most elevated rates of hepatitis C are among individuals that use injectable drugs (45% of new cases), patients with liver failure undergoing hemodialisis (prevalence varies between 6 and 38%), and hemophiliacs (antiHCV rates of 44%)5.There still are no safe predictions on the evolution of a specific patient infected with HCV, once the differences in the evolution course of each patient depend not only on viral factors, but also depend on aspects related to the host and environment6,. However, it is known that hepatitis C evolves to the chronic form in 80% of acutely infected patients7, leading to cirrhosis, digestive hemorrhage, liver failure, liver cancer and death - representing the major cause of liver transplants along with alcoholism8.The factors associated with hepatitis C mortality are very important for the understanding of the natural history of this infection, as well as for the prediction of which patients will present more unfavorable prognosis and which will reach more severe stages of the disease. Therefore, the current study has the objective of establishing knowledge on the factors associated with death in hepatitis C patients, to guide the monitoring of the patient by the assisting physician.