The Prevalence of Hepatitis B & C among Hemodialysis Patients in Baghdad Medical City.

Abstract

Background

Hepatitis B and C are infectious diseases caused by the hepatitis B Virus (HBV) and C virus respectively, that affects the liver. Hepatitis viruses are transmitted by blood-to-blood contact associated with dialysis, poorly sterilized medical equipment, needle-stick injuries, blood transfusion, and intravenous drug users.

Methods

this is a cross-sectional study conducted in the Hemodialysis Unit of Baghdad Teaching Hospital between the period of April and September 2018. Ninety-eight patients were enrolled in this study after adopting informed consent.

All patients were on regular hemodialysis as a renal replacement therapy with different durations. Full history was taken from them including age, gender, occupation, marital status, and past medical and surgical histories. Blood test results were also recorded. all data were analyzed using SPSS20 with 95%confidence which means a p-value less than 0.05 to be statistically significance.

Results

The percentage of Hemodialysis patients infected with Hepatitis C was (43%) while those infected with Hepatitis B was (3%). There is no statistically significant association between age and infection with Hepatitis B & C (P>0.05). The mean age of patients infected with Hepatitis B was (65.8±8.2), while for patients infected with Hepatitis C it was (45.3±14.7).

Conclusion

Hepatitis C is more prevalent than Hepatitis B in the Hemodialysis Unit and the infection was not statistically associated with the age or gender of the patients