Recurrent hepatitis C after liver transplantation

Recurrent HCV is universal after liver transplantation in patients viremic at the time of transplantation and leads to cirrhosis in up to 30% of patients by five years. Once cirrhosis develops, the risk of hepatic decompensation is 42% per year. This has led to recurrent HCV emerging as an important yet controversial indication for liver retransplantation and a renewed interest in the role of anti-viral therapies. Despite encouraging results with pegylated interferon and ribavirin in the non-transplant HCV population, these findings have not translated to transplant recipients where viral eradication is frequently unsuccessful for genotype 1 patients (