Pretreatment Considerations for Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection

You answered:

B The patient's baseline HCV RNA level is the best predictor of treatment response.

This answer is incorrect. The patient's hepatitis C genotype remains the strongest viral factor and in some studies one of the strongest clinical factors, that determine the likelihood of treatment response. Patients with lower baseline HCV viral levels have tended to have slightly higher sustained virologic response rates with dual treatment with peginterferon and ribavirin, particularly if they have genotype 1 infection but this difference is attenuated with triple therapy that includes a HCV protease inhibitor. Investigators have identified multiple other factors, including IL28B status, race, degree of liver fibrosis, and coinfection with HIV, that may also predict treatment response.

Choose another answer:

A Before starting therapy, it is essential to update the patient's liver fibrosis status by performing a noninvasive test for liver fibrosis, such as transient elastography.
C The degree of hepatic fibrosis correlates with treatment response.
C Monitoring serum aminotransferase levels plays a critical role in determining disease progression.

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