Seroprevalence and risk factors of HCV in dialysis patients in a university hemodialysis center of southeast Anatolia, Turkey

Nowadays, the increased seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in hemodialysis (HD) patients is an important problem. The aim of this study was to investigate the seroprevalence and risk factors that lead to the spread of HCV in HD and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients. Sixty-seven HD and 35 CAPD patients were enrolled in the study, 44 (43.1%) of whom were female and 58 (56.9%) of whom were male. Any risk factor for HCV infection was questioned. In offer HD center, all precautions have been taken for the prevention of the spread of HCV. Rooms and dialysis machines used by HCV (+) patients-mean age, 41.6 ± 15.3 yr (range, 19-75 yr)-are separated from the others. All HCV (+) cases except two had received blood transfusions, and all cases had at least one surgical intervention (central venous catheter and/or arteriovenous shunting operation). Eight (7.8%) of the cases had dental interventions, including conservative tooth treatment or tooth extractions. There was no relation between socioeconomic status or duration on dialysis with a higher prevalence of HCV in the dialysis patients (p>0.05). In general, anti-HCV seropositivity in our center was 41%, and these cases were generally asymptomatic except for elevated liver enzyme levels and slightly decreased albumin levels. All cases had at least one risk factor. The seroconversion rate/yr of our anti-HCV (-) patients was 0.148/patient-yr in HD patients and 0.002/patient-yr in CAPD patients. The seroconversion rate/yr and prevalence of HCV were higher in the HD patients than in the CAPD patients. It is necessary to take additional measures with regard to universal precautions for the prevention of the spread of HCV, including separation of dialysis machines, education of nurses, and the regular changing of gloves when moving from patient to patient.