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PRINT ISSN : 2319-7692
Online ISSN : 2319-7706 Issues : 12 per year Publisher : Excellent Publishers Email : editorijcmas@gmail.com / submit@ijcmas.com Editor-in-chief: Dr.M.Prakash Index Copernicus ICV 2018: 95.39 NAAS RATING 2020: 5.38 |
HCV is a major cause of increased morbidity and mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Since, HCV is transmitted through blood and blood products prevalence of anti-HCV among Hemodialysis (HD) patients is consistently higher among them. Factors such as blood transfusion and frequent parenteral interventions have been shown to be associated with increased risk of HCV infection. A total of 107 blood samples were collected from CKD patients on maintenance hemodialysis in a tertiary care hospital and the sera separated, stored at -20° C and tested for anti-HCV antibodies by using third generation ELISA. Out of 107 CKD Patients 33 (30.8%) were positive for anti-HCV, of 33 seropositives 21 (63.6 %) were males and 12 (36.4%) were females. 19 (57.6%) out of 33 seropositives had received multiple blood transfusions and prevalence of HCV was higher among (75.7%) those patients who had undergone increased duration and number of hemodialysis. Hemodialysis patients should be routinely screened for HCV infection, preferably using serological methods. Strict adherence to universal precautions along with isolating HCV-infected dialysis patients might help to control disease spread in HD units.