Expert consensus on the process of in-hospital screening and management of viral hepatitis E in China (2023) / 临床肝胆病杂志

ABSTRACT

Hepatitis E caused by hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is an acute /chronic infectious disease with significant morbidity and mortality, which has become an important global health issue. Our understanding of HEV has changed completely over the past decade. Every year 20 million people are infected with HEV, among whom hepatitis E occur in 3.3 million cases and 70 thousands die from HEV infection-related diseases globally. However, a majority of HEV infections, especially fulminant or chronic hepatitis E, are missed diagnosed or misdiagnosed in China. According the goal of eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030 set by the World Health Organization and based on the fact that medical institutions are the main facilities for diagnosis and treatment of Hepatitis E in China, we developed the Expert Consensus on the process of in - hospital screening and management of viral hepatitis E in China. The consensus intends to promote multi-disciplinary and multi-departmental collaboration in health care institutions, including hospital administration, infection control division, clinical departments and laboratory, to strengthen the screen, diagnosis, consultation, referral and treatment of patients with hepatitis E. Meanwhile, the consensus also intends to raise the awareness of hepatitis E among non-infectious and non-hepatic specialists, which would be conducive to timely detection and early diagnosis of hepatitis E.