Four years ago, the Hepatology Society of the Philippines published the 2014 Consensus Statements on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Hepatitis C. Since then, a number of direct-acting antivirals (DAA) have been made available in the country. These agents have significantly improved the viral response rates of drug therapy for chronic hepatitis C and the resulting outcomes and prognosis of patients with chronic hepatitis C. Therefore, this document updates the consensus statements of the 2014 guidelines to include the scientific evidence supporting DAAs currently available in the Philippines.

These updated treatment recommendations categorized patients according to virus genotype, previous pharmacotherapy (i.e., treatment naive patients or those treated with pegylated interferon [Peg-IFN] and ribavirin), and the presence of cirrhosis and hepatic decompensation in defining the most appropriate antiviral regimens.

As emphasized in the previous consensus statements, the treatment for hepatitis C is fast growing and evolving. Hence, these statements may be amended as new data and treatments become available.

As of July 2018, velpatasvir is not yet commercially available. However, it is accessible to some patients through compassionate use and is expected to be commercially available soon.

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