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Mills-Peninsula Hepatitis C Care

Nearly 4 million people in the United States have chronic hepatitis C, yet many don’t know it. Liver specialists at Mills-Peninsula Medical Center network offer effective new therapies to treat and manage hepatitis C.

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Connect with a Liver Specialist

Featured Services

  • Liver Function Tests

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Hepatitis C Care within the Sutter Health network

The Sutter Health network has doctors and services in more than 100 California cities.

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    Hepatitis C Care

    Hepatitis C, known as "the silent epidemic" because many people have mild or no symptoms, can lead to cirrhosis and ultimately liver cancer. It’s the leading cause of liver transplant in the United States.

    Exciting advances have been made in the treatment of hepatitis C, and Sutter Health is in the vanguard in hepatitis C management, treatment and research. California Pacific’s Liver Disease Management and Transplant Center serves as a hub for viral hepatitis research, offering clinical trials of new antiviral agents.

    A blood-borne virus, hepatitis C risk factors include multiple blood transfusions prior to 1990 (the virus was identified in 1989), intravenous drug use, body tattoos and multiple sex partners. Persons who have served in the military, healthcare workers and women who had cesarean sections prior to 1990 have higher risks of infection.

    Screening

    Identifying carriers is a high priority for Medicare, which covers one hepatitis C screening for anyone:

    • Ages 18 to 79
    • Who had blood transfusions before 1992
    • At high risk for infection due to current or past intravenous drug use

    Medicare requires that your primary care doctor order the hepatitis virus panel. If antibodies are detected, you may be referred to a liver specialist, who will order further tests.

    Disease Management

    If you have chronic hepatitis C, a liver specialist can monitor the progress of your disease using liver function tests and, if necessary, liver biopsy to assess the extent of fibrosis, a precursor to cirrhosis. A noninvasive imaging exam called Fibroscan measures the stiffness of the liver and is another way to assess the extent of fibrosis.

    Therapy

    There are four stages of fibrosis. If you have stage 0 or 1 fibrosis, you have mild hepatitis C. If you have stage 3 or 4, you are at risk for developing cirrhosis. Specialists will work with you to discuss therapy with antiviral drugs to reduce the virus’s ability to reproduce.

    Current standard treatment combines medications called Pegylated interferon-alpha-2a or Pegylated interferon-alpha-2b (brand names Pegasys® or PEG-Intron®) and antiviral ribavirin, administered for 24 or 48 weeks.

    Doctors generally recommend treatment for people with proven hepatitis C virus infection, persistently abnormal liver function tests and a liver biopsy that shows significant fibrosis. Therapy clears the virus in 70 to 80 percent of those infected with HCV genotypes 2 and 3 and in about 45 percent of those infected with genotype 1.

    Only about 15 percent of hepatitis C-infected patients will go on to develop cirrhosis during their lifetime. The majority of people with hepatitis C will never need a liver transplant.

    In Your Corner

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    Defending the Liver from Cirrhosis

    Many liver diseases, hepatitis C included, can cause cirrhosis, which negatively impacts your liver’s ability to perform its many functions. With an early diagnosis and management of your disease, liver specialists in the Sutter Health network can help you stop and sometimes reverse the damage.

    Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) Research

    Sutter Health Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) Research

    Sutter Health Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) Research Sutter Health Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) Research

    Services Near You

    Mills-Peninsula Medical Center

    Mills-Peninsula Medical Center

    1501 Trousdale Drive

    Burlingame, CA 94010

    (650) 696-5400

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