One of the dilemmas facing clinicians is whether to treat a patient who has hepatitis C and mild disease on liver biopsy. Wong and colleagues evaluated this scenario from the perspective of cost-effectiveness. In a mathematical model, they compared the cost of immediate combination IFN and ribavirin therapy vs watchful waiting for patients with histologically mild disease. While this model suggested that periodic biopsies would avoid institution of therapy in many patients, immediate treatment of these patients was found to be cost-effective by eradicating virus and thereby potentially preventing disease progression.
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