Patients with acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection appear to have an excellent chance of responding to 6 months of standard therapy with interferon (IFN). Because spontaneous resolution is common, no definitive timing of therapy initiation can be recommended; however, waiting 2-4 months after the onset of illness seems reasonable. Patients with advanced fibrosis, those with compensated cirrhosis, liver transplant recipients, and those with severe extraheptic hepatitis are to be given the highest priority for treatment.Treatment decisions should balance the anticipated reduction in transmission versus the likelihood of reinfection in patients whose risk of HCV transmission is high and in whom HCV treatment may result in a reduction in transmission (eg, men who have high-risk sex with men, active injection drug users, incarcerated persons, and those on hemodialysis)
