HBV & Me

I am pleased to announce that my new “HBV & ME” interactive ‘Treatment indicator’ is now available on the website. If you have Chronic Hepatitis B (CHB) my ‘treatment indicator’ will help you better understand and manage your condition. 

CHB is a dynamic disease which requires continuous monitoring to determine whether the disease is quiescent and no treatment is necessary or conversely, whether the disease is active and treatment is indicated to suppress the virus, reduce liver inflammation and avert the complications of CHB. The continuous monitoring of CHB is mandatory to ensure the disease is optimally managed. 

My goal is to empower patients to better understand this chronic infection and my ‘Treatment Indicator’ is designed to put patients in control of their own management, be that prompting whether they should seek medical help or whether they should be on treatment. However, this tool is NOT designed to replace specialist care and should be used to better understand the timing and rationale of management decisions in CHB in partnership with your Specialist.   

The Treatment Indicator is based on three questions about your liver health in relation to CHB, namely the level of replicating virus (HBV DNA), the level of liver inflammation (serum ALT) and the degree of liver fibrosis. For each question you must select the most appropriate answer from the options displayed. Once completed, you will then be given advice on how best to proceed.

The tool is designed as a simple “traffic light system”, with outcomes provided as green, amber or red. The outcomes indicate whether treatment is not indicated (green), should be considered (amber) or is indicated (red).