Incidence of hepatitis C virus in chronic kidney disease patients on long term hemodialysis

Abstract

Objectives: The objective of the study was to find the frequency of hepatitis C virus in patients with chronic kidney disease on long term hemodialysis and its associated factors.

Methodology: Descriptive cross-sectional study was done in Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), department of Nephrology, from September to December 2021. All patients on regular hemodialysis aged more than 12 years, having at least 20 cycles of hemodialysis were included in the study by consecutive sampling. Qualitative detection of Anti-HCV antibodies was carried out/to detect hepatitis C-infection. A self-structured questionnaire was designed and all the data was entered on that questionnaire. Data was analyzed on SPSS version 25.

Results: Total 200 patients were enrolled in the study, and males were 121 (60.5%), females 79 (39.5%) and the mean age was 57.6±9.8 years. Out of 200 patients, 36% patients were seropositive for hepatitis C. It was significantly associated with duration of hemodialysis, surgery history and blood transfusion (p ≤ 0.05).

Conclusion: Hepatitis C virus prevalence is very high among patients on long term hemodialysis and it is associated with dialysis duration, surgery history and blood transfusion.