HCH providers see many patients with liver disease, mainly secondary to hepatitis C (HCV). While the incidence of newly acquired HCV infection has decreased in the United States, over 4 million Americans are estimated to have been infected.1 A disproportionate number of homeless people (22%–53%) have the virus2,3– indeed, incarcerated and homeless individuals are not included in the National Center for Health Statistics count and are thought to number another million.4 Clinicians find it difficult to get patients the special care they need when they lack stable housing, engage in chronic alcohol or drug use, or are mentally unstable. Many clients progress untreated to end-stage liver disease and fill medical respite facility beds. The following articles discuss the pathophysiology of liver disease, the preponderance of hepatitis among homeless and incarcerated people, and treatment options.
Healing Hands: The Specter of Liver Disease (2008)
Categories:
Clinical Practice, Healing Hands Newsletter, Hepatitis, Infectious Disease