Hep C: A Case Study

This research paper is going to review today’s silent killer, the Hepatitis C virus. This paper will talk about the description of the disease, the signs and symptoms, the etiology and risk factors, diagnostic studies, treatments and prognosis of this disease. I had lived with this disease for over ten years before diagnosed so it is important to understand the signs and symptoms so the disease can be identified and a treatment plan can be identified as the sooner it is treated the more likely it will eradicate the disease.

Hepatitis C used to affect minorities in urban areas. In June 2015, an epidemic has occurred in rural Appalachia among 18-24 year old white drug users. The sharing of needles contribute to the outbreak. In parts of Indiana, 25% of the population live in poverty, making treatment options unattainable (Galofarno

The increasing number of citizens that are testing positive for Hepatitis C is shocking and the epidemic is just getting worse. One out of every one hundred people in the general population has Hepatitis C, but the ratio is higher in prisons. One out of every six inmates has Hepatitis C (Wegner, Rottnek, Parker and Crippin, 2014). Hepatitis C (HCV) is a blood disease that is caused by a virus and it affects the liver. Unfortunately there is no vaccine to prevent this disease and I have seen first-hand how ugly this virus is. I have worked in the medical field for the past 6 years and I have a very close friend who contracted HCV. Unfortunately, she was one of the many people that needed a liver transplant. HCV has infected four times as

About 4.1 million people in Americans have the positive antibody for hepatitis C virus (HCV), and about 75% of them are persistently infected and most of the infections happened d 20 to 40 years ago, before the finding of HCV. Hepatitis C increased from 7,000 to 13,000 deaths in 2005. Furthermore, HCV develops slowly which increases the risk for severe complications in the infected people. Identification, death, and treatment is predicted to affect 35,000 by 2030. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) used antiviral therapy with PEGylated in clinical trials. The CDC recommends a HVC one time test for people born between 1945 and 1965.They observed testing by birth. The objective of this study was to thoroughly evaluate the amount of substance abuser infected with hepatitis C in the United States. Additional to observe the treatment of HVC. Currently Medicaid and Medicare repayment standards for sofosbuvir were calculated in all states including the District of Columbia. Medicaid and Medicare covered the drug based on the following classes liver disease stage, HIV, and drug use. Approximately 42 states reimbursed the following criteria up to 74% for the drug sofobuvir. About two thirds of the United States restricted the treatment centered on prescriber type. About 88% included drug abuse in their sofosbuvir admissibility measures. Finally 50% required a dated of abstinence and 64% required drug test. The latest drug to HVC is called Sovaldi and it costs $84,000 for the 12

In time the virus can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver failure. Symptoms of HCV are jaundice (yellowing of the eyes), stomach pain, nausea and fatigue. The main problem is that many people don’t have symptoms until they already have some sort of liver damage. Treatment options for HCV include a combination of medications or depending on the degree of damage, a liver transplant. Given that HCV it is a blood disease that is spread through contact with an infected person’s blood, there are many ways to contract this disease. Injection drug users, physical altercations, sexual contact and mother to infant infection are just some of the ways this disease is spread.

Hepatitis C is a prevalent health care problem. According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2016), approximately 2.7-3.9 million of the adult population in the United States is infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). Some groups of people are at risk for Hepatitis C infection, including current injection drug users, people who received the blood transfusion before 1992, organ recipients from a donor who tested positive for hepatitis C virus, hemodialysis patients, and children born to a hepatitis C mother (CDC, 2016). Hepatitis C causes embarrassment and isolation from the society. Self-esteem and understanding of the family, friend and community will motivate the patient to have a good quality life in society. This

As research as shown, Hepatitis C affects the liver, sometimes severely. This disease also can hinder the CNS and circulatory system, or the blood. Although it is troublesome to tell when one is infected with Hepatitis C, there are a few symptoms that come along with the disease. There are multiple tests that can detect Hepatitis C and after it is detected, there are a few medications to treat it. As previously stated, there is no current vaccination for Hepatitis

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) causes inflammation of the liver, eventually leading to tissue damage. Cirrhosis is the result of extensive scarring of the liver. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that HCV typically causes cirrhosis in 5 to 20 percent of infected people over a period of 20 to 30 years. Overall, cirrhosis develops 20 to 30 percent of the time. Progression to cirrhosis may be accelerated in people who are older, obese, drink alcohol, or are immune-suppressed (such as people who are coinfected with HIV).

Purpose: The purpose of the article was to address one of the interventions in Hepatitis C treatment and the temporal aspect of it in particular. The authors use a question to begin the article which makes it easy for the reader to find the purpose of the article and later the issue which would be preceding it. Within the purpose, the authors also identify their audience being the patients living with Hepatitis C virus, the insurance companies, and the health departments. Identifying the stakeholders is effective in targeting the message to the appropriate population and further adds clarity to the issue since it would be relatable to the authors of the article as well as their audience.

Medicaid officials across the country are pushing for the access to the new hepatitis C drugs to be widened by state Medicaid programs because the guidelines are unreasonably strict and these medications can cost up to $1,000 per pill. The Food and Drug Administration approved the new hepatitis C drugs, Sovaldi and Harvoni, on July 24 of this year. These expenses can cost up to $84,000 for the recommended treatment period of 12 weeks. The hepatitis C drugs can help cure thousands of people with hepatitis C, which is why Federal and State officials are pushing for access to these drugs to be widened.

Indigenous peoples in Canada (First Nations, Inuit and Métis) are recognized as having a significantly increased hepatitis C disease burden in comparison to non-Indigenous Canadians (Uhanova, Tate, Tataryn, & Minuk, 2013). Due to over-representation in many groups considered high-risk for hepatitis C transmission, such as those living in unstable housing or engaging in injection drug use, Indigenous peoples living in urban settings are particularly affected (Miller et al., 2010). Recent studies have shown that comprehensive research on the risk factors associated with hepatitis C acquisition in urban Indigenous populations is lacking (Uhanova et al., 2013; Plitt et al., 2011). Furthermore, available evidence suggests that

Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by the Hepatitis C virus. The disease can be either acute or a chronic infection, which can be mild or a lifelong disease. This disease also is the major cause of cirrhosis and liver cancer. The disease is slow moving and sometimes take up to thirty years to damage the liver. In the United States there are an estimated three to four million people with the disease and are not even aware. Approximately thirty percent of the individuals infected within six months have no symptoms and will not even be aware that they have the disease. In the remaining seventy percent infected the disease will become chronic. According to statics one hundred and seventy million people are chronically infected worldwide.

Hayley is a 24yo, G1 P0, who was seen for a consultation due to hepatitis C. The patient does have a prior history of substance usage but states that she has been clean throughout the entire pregnancy. She does periodically use Goody powders prn and she was told to discontinue this. She also has issues with depression and anxiety and is on Zoloft 50 mg daily. She believes that a viral load was drawn but in looking at the labwork I do not have those results currently. Her hepatitis C antibody test was positive. Overall, she denies any complaints with the pregnancy to date.

Medical management involves the use of vancomycin, which is effective only when delivered through enteral feeding (Walters & Zuckerbraun, 2014). C. difficile resistance drugs have been observed and are of concern given the increased prevalence of infection over the years and the subsequent requirement for antibiotics now. Reduced susceptibility to vancomycin has been seen with C. difficile isolates, however, it is not widespread at this time (Jarrad et al., 2015). One of the more displeasing issues related to C. difficile infection is the recurrence of the disease. This may be due to the standard treatment with vancomycin, which destroys the C. difficile bacteria but does not restore the patient’s colonic microbiome and gut flora, and/or impaired

Patient C is an 18 year old healthy female. She has great difficulty producing a very small volume of urine, despite the fact that she has not urinated since the morning. It is discovered that she has only had one donut and two cups of coffee all day. The patient’s urine is an orange/ yellow colour and is very dark, however there is no odor exhibited from the urine, it also has a pH of 6.0. The patient’s urine has no glucose, protein, ketones, bilirubin, or nitrite. There is also no evidence of blood cells in the urine. The patient’s urine seems to be completely normal, despite the fact that it is very dark. This patient is most likely dehydrated. She finds it very difficult to produce urine, meaning, and the only liquids she has drunk since