Curing Hepatitis C – are you the stumbling block?

28th July 2019, Dr Chee L Khoo

It’s not often that we cure anyone of any disease. Hepatitis C is one of those exceptions to the rule. The World Health Organization (WHO) set the ambitious target of eliminating hepatitis C as a public health threat by 2030 [1]. Australia is one of the very first countries in the world to have made the direct acting anti-viral (DAA) agents available on the PBS.…

Non-invasive liver elastography – a new era in liver disease assessment

May 15, 2018, Dr Ahmed Mayat (Medical Imaging Campbelltown)

Gold standard for diagnosis and staging of liver fibrosis is liver biopsy.  This is, however an invasive procedure with its associated complications.

Liver Elastography is a simple non-invasive method to assess liver fibrosis.  A special ultrasound pulse measures the propagation speed of sound waves through the liver parenchyma.  This data can be acquired during the normal liver ultrasound examination. …

Hepatitis C treatment in general practice – my first case

May 15, 2018, Dr Chee L Khoo

Kylie was known to have chronic hepatitis c infection for many years. She had been busy for the last 2-3 years being pregnant. We talked about anti-viral treatment as soon as she finished with breast feeding her last baby. She had heard about these wonder drugs curing her hepatitis C infection.

When Kylie was ready, we went through the motions:

Pre-treatment Asssessment – the 6 Cs

  1. Complications of liver disease
  • Co-factors for liver disease progression
  • Signs of liver disease
  • Presence of cirrhosis -consider Fibroscan for any patient with hepatitis C.