Prevalence of Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C Infection among Patients Undergoing Dialysis

Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C are the major causes of morbidity and mortality in Pakistani population and their influence is considerable in patients suffering from kidney diseases and undergoing dialysis (Haemodialysis/ Peritoneal). This study considered the total number of dialysis a patient received and the number of dialysis in a week with the chances of Hepatitis C and Hepatitis B infection. This cross sectional study was conducted to determine the frequency of hepatitis B and hepatitis C in patients undergoing either haemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis. Serum sample was extracted from the blood of 60 patients. All the patients were suffering from either chronic kidney disease or acute renal failure. Screening was performed by strip method, which is based on Immuno-chromatographic technique for the detection of antibodies against HBsAg and HCV in patients on dialysis (haemodialysis/ peritoneal dialysis). The patients undergoing haemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis were randomly selected, out of which 43 were males and 17 were females. The association of HCV and HBV infection was calculated in relation to frequency per week of dialysis and total number of dialysis. There is significant correlation between HCV infection and total numbers of haemodialysis a patient has. Increase in the frequency of HCV infection was observed as the number of dialysis increased.