Hepatitis C virus infections and risk factors among Haemodialysis patients at Tertiary care hospital of India

Hepatitis C virus infections and risk factors among haemodialysis patients in tertiary care hospital of India

Abstract

Background & objectives: Chronic renal failure (CRF) patients on haemodialysis (HD) have a high risk of acquiring Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The HCV infection in HD patients is highly variable between different countries. The association between hepatitis C virus infection and clinical and laboratory measures in maintenance haemodialysis patients are poorly understood. This study was under taken to find out HCV infections and multifactor association of HCV infection in patients on HD in our region.
Methods: This prospective study was conducted at haemodialysis unit of tertiary care hospital over a period of 6 months. A total of 100 chronic renal failure patients on haemodialysis at common unit were studied. The blood samples were collected before initiation of haemodialysis. Then all the samples were subjected to 3rd generation HCV Elisa for HCV antibody detection. All clinical and laboratory data were collected and analyzed. Results: Four percentage patients were turn out to be HCV reactive after haemodialysis. Among HCV reactive 4.5% patients were more than 50 years age, 12.5% were unmarried, 7.9% belong to lower & middle socio-economical class, 7.8% having history of haemodialysis more than 1year, & 5% were on haemodialysis every 7th day. Almost 20% HCV reactive patients had history of blood transfusion more than 10 times. 7.6% HCV reactive cases had history of major invasive procedure. The normal AST, ALT, and bilirubin level in all HCV reactive patients. Interpretation & Conclusion: We conclude that predictor of HCV infection in haemodialysis patients included older age, male gender, unmarried status, lower and middle socio-economical class, more number of blood transfusions, increased frequency and duration of dialysis, and any invasive procedure irrespective of aetiology of CRF and units of dialysis. The ALT and AST level cannot predict the extent of liver damage in haemodialysis patients with HCV infection.