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I am pleased to have Healio Rheumatology focus this issue’s Cover Story on the intersection of viral hepatitis and rheumatology, as this is a subject both near to my heart as well as one of great importance to many patients. Our esteemed sources enlighten us on many aspects of the impact of viral hepatitis and rheumatic diseases from not only from the perspective of these viruses as etiologies for many rheumatic syndromes, but also, and far more important, from a prevalence perspective – the impact of chronic viral hepatitis, both hepatitis B and C, as comorbidities.
When a patient with a rheumatic disease has comorbid chronic HBV and HCV infection, numerous complex issues must be parsed to offer optimal antirheumatic therapy. While there are no accurate appraisals of how many patients are infected, it is certainly in the tens of thousands. Having been afforded this Editorial opportunity, I want to focus on one aspect of HCV infection that sounded like a dream just a few years ago, namely the prospect of global eradication of HCV.
While the public health service has not yet changed the screening recommendations from the birth cohort model (ie, screen only those at highest risk; those born from 1945 to 1965), many are clamoring for universal screening.
The algorithm I have proposed publicly is simple. If you are considering immunosuppression in a rheumatic disease patient, then screen for both HBV and HCV. There are no other questions to ask regarding risk factors and no deciphering of which medications are “immunosuppressive.” If you have to wonder about the intricacies of this question, then just screen.
Read complete article here….https://www.healio.com/rheumatology/infection/news/print/healio-rheumatology/%7Bc2e144fe-8643-4df4-9641-840d34267104%7D/hepatitis-c-and-the-rheumatologist-our-role-in-the-quest-for-global-eradication-of-hcv