Hepatitis%20c Patient Education

Partner Notification

• Partner notification for at-risk contacts
  
  • Contact tracing to include any sexual contact (penetrative vaginal or anal sex) or needle-sharing partners from 2 weeks before the onset of jaundice
  • If without acute infection, trace back to the likely time of infection eg blood transfusion, 1st needle sharing

Patient Education

• Provide the patients with a detailed explanation of their condition
  
  • Emphasize the disease’s long-term implications (eg long-term medical therapy, continuous monitoring for liver disease progression) for their and their partners’ health
  • Counsel regarding the importance of treatment adherence, proper dosing administration, and reporting of medication changes 
  • Provide clear, accurate, written information
• Advise patient not to donate blood, semen or organs
• Advise patient to avoid sharing items of personal hygiene eg toothbrushes, shaving equipment
• Counsel patient to stop using illicit drugs
• Advise patient regarding sexual transmission
  
  • HCV is not considered to be a sexually transmitted disease, but sexual promiscuity, HIV and herpes simplex virus (HSV-2) coinfections are associated with sexual transmission of hepatitis C
  • Avoid unprotected sex during menstruation
• Advise patient regarding the potential deleterious effect of alcohol especially in association with development of HCC, progression of liver fibrosis and increase in HCV replication