Experts stress management for chronic liver diseases

Health experts at a recent seminar in Beijing explored new modes of medical management for chronic liver disease patients in China.

The seminar was held jointly by the Health Times, the Chinese Foundation for Hepatitis Prevention and Control, and the Inner Mongolia FuRui Medical Science Co.

Experts discussed measures to control the disease in individuals and the spread of chronic liver diseases in society.

According to professor Tan Yongkang from the Capital Medical University, causes of chronic liver diseases can be complicated and, if not treated in time, can gradually cause fibrosis and eventually lead to the development of cirrhosis and liver cancer.

He suggested that early diagnosis and treatment are critical for chronic liver disease patients.

“Modern medical practices have proven that early-stage hepatic fibrosis and cirrhosis are reversible when certain treatment is taken,” Tan said.

“That requires the doctors to maintain long-term management for the patient's problem and track the development of the disease closely.”

Zhu Limin, a member of the standing committee of the Chinese Society of Hepatology, added that more and more Chinese doctors have realized the importance of management for chronic liver diseases, rather than merely focusing on hospital treatments.

“Individual case management is an efficient way but it's a cooperative process, which doesn't only involve that treatment at the hospital, but also the assessment, plans, implements, monitoring and so on,” Zhu said.

The seminar also demonstrated an individual case management system adopted by a hospital in Taiwan. The results show the management system has effectively improved the return visit rate of patients and can lower medical costs.

The Chinese Foundation for Hepatitis Prevention and Control has launched a program to explore lifelong health management for chronic liver disease patients and help them develop a sense of standard treatments.

The program traces the patients' disease development since their first visit to hospital. Individual case managers will follow up with calls, at patients' meetings and through financial aid for poverty-ridden patients.

According to Yang Xizhong, secretary-general of the foundation, hepatitis B virus carriers among children under age 5 in China have been reduced to less than 1 percent thanks to immunization.

“However, the current carriers remain a major source of infection if not carefully treated and managed,” he said.