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Abstract: Ms. Sun was exposed to a hepatitis C patient 3 months ago, and in the recent past, she developed symptoms such as malaise, loss of appetite and nausea, and was diagnosed with viral hepatitis C, or hepatitis C for short, after examination. The disease is mainly caused by hepatitis C virus infection. Ms. Sun was treated with active application of antiviral drugs, and her discomfort symptoms were effectively improved and reached clinical cure.
Basic information】Female, 20 years old
Disease Type】Hepatitis C
Hospital】The First Hospital of China Medical University
Date of consultation】December 2021
Treatment regimen】Oral medications (sofosbuvir-velpatasvir tablets, Ledipavir sofosbuvir tablets)
Treatment period】Treatment for 2 months, regular review
Effectiveness】After treatment, symptoms such as fatigue improved and appetite was restored.
I. Initial consultation
When we first met Ms. Sun, she was relatively thin, and her face was pale and her mental state was poor, requiring support from her family. Ms. Sun reported that she had been in contact with a hepatitis C patient 3 months ago, but did not show any discomfort for 1 week afterwards, so she did not care. Over time, the patient gradually developed symptoms such as weakness, nausea, loss of appetite, weight loss of about 4 kg, and occasionally low fever and right upper abdominal pain, so she came to the hospital for consultation. Based on Ms. Sun’s account, a preliminary diagnosis of viral hepatitis C could be made, and further diagnosis and corresponding treatment were recommended.
II. Treatment process
First of all, Ms. Sun was examined. She had a normal body shape, clear language, and cooperation in physical examination. There was no obvious yellow staining of the skin and mucous membranes of the whole body, and there was no subcutaneous bleeding or rash, and there was no enlargement of the lymph nodes of the whole body. The abdomen was examined flat, without abdominal varices, but with pressure pain in the liver area. The results of immunological serological examination on Ms. Sun indicated that she was positive for hepatitis C antibody, followed by routine blood tests, which indicated elevated white blood cells and decreased red blood cells, confirming the diagnosis of viral hepatitis C. After the diagnosis, I prescribed an antiviral treatment plan for Ms. Sun, and told her to combine sofosbuvir-velpatasvir tablets and levidipamivir sofosbuvir tablets for treatment, informing her that the treatment would take a long time and that she should be reviewed regularly after stopping the medication.
III. Treatment effect
After the treatment, Ms. Sun’s symptoms improved significantly. At the end of one month of treatment, the symptoms of fatigue were relieved, appetite was improved, low fever and right upper abdominal pain had completely disappeared, and her mental state had improved. After 2 months of treatment, Ms. Sun had no more symptoms of malaise, her appetite had returned to normal, her weight had increased, and her mental state was relatively good.
IV. Notes
After seeing Ms. Sun’s symptoms improve significantly after medication, her health recovered and her mental state was good, I was sincerely happy for her and instructed her to pay attention to the following points.
1. During the treatment period, she should pay attention to adequate rest, adequate sleep and less strenuous exercise to avoid aggravating her liver and worsening her condition.
2, in terms of diet, you can eat some light, easy to digest food, such as millet porridge, noodles, etc., and pay attention to drink more water, which helps to promote the body’s metabolism, and also avoid drinking alcohol to prevent aggravating the burden on the liver, leading to aggravation of the disease.
3.After stopping the medication, attention should be paid to regular review to clarify the recovery of the disease and whether there is a relapse.
V. Personal insight
In the case of 20-year-old Ms. Sun, who was infected with hepatitis C virus due to her contact with a hepatitis C patient, the general population should pay attention, especially those who donate blood and apply blood products, and should have regular medical checkups to clarify the presence of infection. Viral hepatitis C is mainly transmitted through blood, but may also be transmitted sexually and from mother to child. People infected with the hepatitis C virus generally experience symptoms such as weakness, nausea, and pain in the liver area, and active treatment is recommended to avoid delaying the disease, which may even lead to complications such as hepatic encephalopathy, upper gastrointestinal bleeding, and hepatorenal syndrome. However, such people do not need to worry too much because viral hepatitis C can be clinically cured after active treatment.