Hepatitis C virus in patients with chronic kidney disease treated with renal replacement therapy

Abstract

All patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) must be tested for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection as the occurrence of HCV infection in those patients is more frequent than in the general population. This is true even for those patients, who do not receive dialysis therapy. It is now known that HCV infection increases the risk of developing CKD and contributes to the progression of CKD. In the absence of sufficient in-depth anti-epidemic measures designed to prevent infection, the latter occurs particularly often in the units performing the renal replacement therapy (RRT). Antiviral treatment is required both for the patients with HCV-associated CKD and the CKD patients at any stage of HCV infection.