Saudi Journal of Kidney Diseases and Transplantation (Jan 2014)

Viral hepatitis C and B among dialysis patients at the Rabat University Hospital: Prevalence and risk factors

  • Zineb Lioussfi,
  • Zineb Errami,
  • Aicha Radoui,
  • Hakima Rhou,
  • Fatima Ezzaitouni,
  • Naima Ouzeddoun,
  • Rabea Bayahia,
  • Loubna Benamar

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4103/1319-2442.132236
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 25, no. 3
pp. 672 – 679

Abstract

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The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) in maintenance hemodialysis (HD) and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis patients at the Rabat University Hospital and to identify the major risk factors for transmission. A retrospective study was performed in 67 chronic HD and 36 peritoneal dialysis patients. For the screening of viral infections, we tested for anti-HCV antibodies and HBs antigen (Hbs Ag). We compared infected and non-infected patients in order to determine the risk factors for contamination. In the HD unit, the prevalence of anti-HCV was 60% and the prevalence of HBs Ag was 6%. Duration of dialysis (P = 0.001) was the only risk factor in our HD patients. In peritoneal dialysis (PD), the prevalence of anti-HCV was 8%. Hbs Ag was detected in 2.6% of our PD patients. Viral hepatitis C is the main viral infection in our HD unit. The duration of dialysis is the main risk factor for infection in our study. The transmission is essentially nosocomial, requiring a strict adherence to infection control procedures.