Patient-Reported Outcomes and Fatigue in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C Infection

Clin Liver Dis. 2017 Aug;21(3):565-578. doi: 10.1016/j.cld.2017.03.011. Epub 2017 Apr 26.

Abstract

Fatigue is a common symptom. Diagnosis is difficult. Fatigue is often a complex symptom. In the recent years, fatigue has gained considerable amount of attention. It has 2 major types, central and peripheral, which may occur together or alone. Although fatigue has many strong relations with depression and sleep disorders, it is a separate entity. For the diagnosis of fatigue, self-reports and patient-reported outcomes are highly valuable tools because these methods can reflect patients' perceptions. Treating the underlying disease with newly developed direct-acting antivirals often improves the perceived fatigue. Healthy lifestyle changes are the cornerstone of the treatment.

Keywords: Fatigue; Hepatitis C; Patient-reported outcome.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Antiviral Agents / therapeutic use
  • Fatigue / diagnosis
  • Fatigue / psychology*
  • Fatigue / therapy
  • Fatigue / virology*
  • Hepatitis C, Chronic / complications*
  • Hepatitis C, Chronic / drug therapy
  • Humans
  • Mental Fatigue / psychology
  • Mental Fatigue / virology
  • Patient Outcome Assessment
  • Quality of Life*
  • Severity of Illness Index

Substances

  • Antiviral Agents