Hepatitis C and hepatitis B seroprevalence and associated risk factors in hemodialysis patients in Guilan province, north of Iran

authors:

avatar Farahnaz Joukar 1 , avatar Sepiedeh Besharati 1 , avatar Hasan Mirpour 1 , avatar Fariborz Mansour-Ghanaei 2 , *

Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases Research Center, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, IR Iran
Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases Research Center, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, ghanaei@gums.ac.ir, IR Iran
Hepatitis Monthly: Vol.11, issue 3; 178-181
article type: Research Article
received: August 7, 2010
accepted: November 22, 2010

how to cite: Joukar F, Besharati S, Mirpour H, Mansour-Ghanaei F. Hepatitis C and hepatitis B seroprevalence and associated risk factors in hemodialysis patients in Guilan province, north of Iran. Hepat Mon. 2011;11(3): 178-181. 

Abstract

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection are especially problematic in patients with end-stage renal disease who are undergoing hemodialysis (HD).
Objectives: To determine the prevalence of HCV and HBV infection in HD population in Guilan, north of Iran.
Patients and Methods: In a cross-sectional study, from May to September 2009, in 11 different hemodialysis units in Guilan province, North of Iran, clinical data such as age, gender, duration of dialysis, HBsAg and anti-HCV antibody of 514 HD patients were recorded. Patients with positive antibodies against HCV were tested for HCV RNA.
Results: From 514 patients, 286 (55.64%) were male. 61 (11.9%) patients were anti-HCV-positive and 31 (50.8%) were HCV PCR-positive. There was significant relationship between HCV Ab-positivity with gender and HD duration (p < 0.05). There was significant difference between the mean HD duration in anti-HCV-positive and anti-HCV-negative patients (p < 0.05). Also, significant relationship was found between HCV RNA-positivity with gender and HD duration (p < 0.05). Seven (1.4%) patients were positive for HBsAg. Two (0.38 %) were found positive for both HBsAg and anti-HCV antibody.
Conclusions: There is low a prevalence of HCV and HBV in HD patients in our region. The rate can be decreased by HBV vaccination of end-stage renal disease patients before setting chronic HD, antiviral treatment and isolation of infected individuals.

 

Implication for health policy/practice/research/medical education:
Due to high prevalence of HBV and/or HCV in hemodialysis patients, increasing physician’s knowledge and attitude towards them could lead to an effective method of prevention. Epidemiologists, health policy makers, and general practitioners should focus in the results of this interesting article.

Please cite this paper as:
Joukar F, Besharati S, Mirpour H, Mansour-Ghanaei F. Hepatitis C and hepatitis B seroprevalence and associated risk factors in hemodialysis patients in Guilan province, north of Iran. Hepat Mon. 2011;11(3):178-181.

 

 

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