End-Stage Liver Disease Due to HCV Infection in Hemophiliacs

Coexistent HIV infection, longer duration of HCV infection, older age at time of infection, genotype 1 HCV infection, and alcohol abuse all contribute to risk for ESLD.

Before 1985, transfusions of blood products to patients with hemophilia sometimes resulted in infection with HIV or hepatitis C virus (HCV). Whereas many deaths occurred from HIV infections prior to development of effective therapy, the consequences of HCV infections have been more subtle. Many HCV-infected patients have shown no evident disease; in others, liver damage has progressed gradually to end-stage liver disease (ESLD). Now, some 35 years after the first hemophilic patients became infected by HCV-containing blood products, an international consortium of hemophilia physicians describes the long-term outcomes of HCV infection.

The study cohort consisted of 847 patients whose median age at first HCV exposure was 14 (range, <1–77); medi…

Reviewing Author

David Green, MD, PhD

End-Stage Liver Disease Due to HCV Infection in Hemophiliacs

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Reviewing Author