SASLT guidelines: Update in treatment of Hepatitis C virus infection

The Saudi Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and Transplantation (SASLT) formed a task force to evaluate the current methods of optimal management of the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in Saudi Arabia. If anti-HCV antibodies are detected, HCV RNA should then be determined by a sensitive molecular method such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), transcription mediated amplification (TMA), or branched DNA (b-DNA) with a lower limit of detection of < 15 international units (IU)/ml. [10] The use of biochemical markers of liver fibrosis (Fibrotest) and necrosis (ActiTest) can be recommended as an alternative to elastograms and liver biopsy for the assessment of liver injury in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Both have been shown to accurately identify patients with mild fibrosis or cirrhosis.