Hepatitis C begins to worry about other medical specialties



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Buenos Aires, Tuesday, November 6, 2018 – Hepatitis C is a very common condition that affects approximately 400,000 Argentines and is a curable condition in over 98% of cases.

] The most serious problem is that 7 out of 10 virus carriers do not know they have it. Given this panorama, the involvement of different medical specialties in the subject arouses enthusiasm and is proposed as a possible strategy to further improve the diagnosis.

The Medical Association of San Jose Hospital of San Martín and the Gastroenterology Division of the same institution organized the University Symposium of Update on the Hepatology and Gastroenterology, which s & # 39; It is held on November 1st and 2nd at the headquarters of the Faculty of Medicine of UBA. Among the main topics of the day, the Hepatitis C approach was highlighted. Participants included clinicians, hepatologists, gastroenterologists, infectiologists, diabetologists, rheumatologists, hematologists and nutritionists, among other specialties.

As far as the diagnosis of the disease is concerned, one possible solution is its interdisciplinary approach. This is why it is important that many other medical specialties experience this so common, silent and harmful disease. If the diabetologist, rheumatologist or hematologist detects a carrier of this virus, the next step will be to refer him / her to the hepatologist, who is best placed to follow the patient throughout the healing process, but it is very important that we all work together to find the patients, "said Dr. Esteban Gonzalez Ballerga, medical hepatologist, head of the outpatient clinic of the Gastroenterology Hospital of Clinics' José de San Martín & # 39 ;.

It is extremely important to detect it in time. "For example, there is colon cancer or celiac disease, among many others. However, the case of this liver disease is alarming because paradoxical, since it is a disease that is cured and hundreds of thousands of Argentines do not know that it has it, "said Dr. González Ballerga.

50 years old, whether or not thought to have been exposed to risk factors, should be performed at least once in the hepatitis C test, which consists of a simple blood test, which can be added to the following health exams: routine that your primary care provider requires.

This virus is spread by contact with contaminated blood. It may have been involuntarily contracted by a blood transfusion, a poor sterilization of medical instruments during surgical procedures or the sharing of personal hygiene items such as toothbrushes or razors. The instruments needed to make tattoos or piercings can transmit the virus if the necessary measures are not taken, such as some beauty treatments, among other means.

The vast majority of the time, patients are surprised at the diagnosis. and come to him casually, trying to give blood, for example. It saves time because the virus progressively harms the liver, which can lead to cirrhosis or liver cancer and require a transplant. As a result, any health professional may suggest to the patient to perform the test, whether or not they are presumed to be engaged in a risk practice.

Regarding the completion of a training such as that which took place at Dr. Gonzalez Ballerga, Faculty of Medicine of the UBA, said that today, all the specialties face a daunting challenge: to be aware of advances in their field of knowledge and to simultaneously attempt to develop a global and holistic view of the patient and his knowledge.

"It's so much that every doctor has to read to update himself in his specialty, that he does not have time to realize it, and in this sense, such events help us to share the knowledge of simplified way, in the hands of referrals These are problems with which we live daily such as fatty liver, hepatitis C or cirrhosis, these are some of the big problems that public health is facing today. " added the specialist.

The activity diary for health professionals also included other topics such as hepatic steatosis, cirrhosis, inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease, microbiota and transplantation. feces.

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