%0 Journal Article
%T Hepatitis C Prevalence in Hemodialysis Patients in Mazandaran, Iran: A Survey by Polymerase Chain Reaction and Serological Methods
%A Atieh Makhlough
%A Mohammadreza Mahdavi
%A Mohamadreza Haghshenas
%A Roya Ghasemian
%A Mozhan Jamshidi
%J Research Journal of Biological Sciences
%D 2012
%I Medwell Online
%X Patients on maintenance hemodialysis are known to have an elevated risk of acquiring Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection. The reported prevalence among hemodialysis patients in the United States ranges from 8-10% and is considerably higher in many European and Middle Eastern countries. Therefore, a reliable diagnosis of HCV infection is essential in order to prevent the spread of the disease in dialysis units. All hemodialysis patients (n = 186) were interviewed in 2 dialysis units in Imam Khomeini and Fatemeh Zahra hospitals of Sari and Valiasr hospital of Ghaemshahr city / Iran, Between June and august 2006.. Blood samples were collected and serum samples screened for anti-HCV antibodies by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Positive samples were retested for confirmation with Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR).Statistical analysis was done by means of SPSS (11) software. A total of 186 hemodialysis patients (mean age 58.86¡À16.9 years) were studied. Mean duration of hemodialysis was 3.07¡À0.3 years. Mean of SGOT and SGPT were 30.64¡À6 and 32.01¡À8, respectively. 39 (21%) patients were found to be seropositive by ELISA and 12 were confirmed positive by PCR, resulting in an anti-HCV prevalence of 6.5%. association between duration of hemodialysis andHCV seropositivity was statistically significant (p = 0.0001) but there were no significant correlation between number of transfusions and HCV seropositivity. Despite the growing demand for cost-effectiveness in the health system, tight control of HCV infection by PCR and ELISA examination must remain an essential part of the routine screening in hemodialysis patients.
%U http://www.medwellonline.net/abstract/?doi=rjbsci.2008.265.268