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| Year : 2010 | Volume
: 21
| Issue : 2 | Page : 357-358 |
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| Hepatitis C in hemodialysis patients needs more attention for control and review the risk factors |
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Seyed-Moayed Alavian
Professor of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Baqiyatallah Research Center for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, P.O. Box 14155-3651, Tehran, Iran
Click here for correspondence address and email
| Date of Web Publication | 9-Mar-2010 |
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How to cite this article:
Alavian SM. Hepatitis C in hemodialysis patients needs more attention for control and review the risk factors. Saudi J Kidney Dis Transpl 2010;21:357-8 |
How to cite this URL:
Alavian SM. Hepatitis C in hemodialysis patients needs more attention for control and review the risk factors. Saudi J Kidney Dis Transpl [serial online] 2010 [cited 2020 Oct 21];21:357-8. Available from: https://www.sjkdt.org/text.asp?2010/21/2/357/60213 |
To the Editor,
We read with great interest the published article by Al-Jamal et al [1] about hepatitis C infection (HCV) in hemodialysis patients in a region in Jordan. I agree with the authors about the importance of HCV infection in hemodialysis patients, [2] but some points need clarification. The prevalence of HCV infection among dialysis patients varies markedly from country to country and among dialysis centers within a single country. [3] The authors found the similar data, but it would have been better to discus more about the use of erythropoietin, universal precautions, health care services and number of nurses to the patients in the centers.
The results in the study confirm that duration of dialysis more than two years and number of transfusion as risk factors for higher prevalence of HCV compatible with other studies, [3],[4] however, the duration of hemodialysis may indirectly reflect the number of blood transfusions given, it was not clear if the time on hemodialysis was indeed an independent risk factor. Interestingly, 32% of their hemodialysis patients did not have history of blood transfusion and evaluating this group separately would have been more informative in terms of duration or sessions per week as a direct risk factor for HCV.
Finally there are many recommendations for better control of HCV infection in hemodialysis patients [5] which needs to be mentioned. Universal infection control precautions are the keystone in prevention of nosocomial HCV transmission in hemodialysis patients, nevertheless isolation measures by providing care in a separate section of the unit prevented seroconversion. [2],[6]
The authors should also have mentioned about the number of hemodialysis sessions per week and HBsAg status in their population.
Hemodialysis centers must be aware of new HCV infections to review their practices and increase their vigilance. The public health authorities should be alert about the prevalence and incidence of HCV infection in their countries' hemodialysis patients in different cities, so that changes can be proposed and the risks of infection among patients can be assessed. Implementation of surveillance system and strict follow up of infection control measures in hemodialysis are the only means to control the seroconversion rate among the hemodialysis units.
 References | |  |
| 1. | Al-Jamal M, Al-Qudah A, Al-Shishi KF, AlSarayreh A, Al-Quraan L. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in hemodialysis patients in the south of Jordan. Saudi J Kidney Dis Transpl 2009;20(3):488-92.  |
| 2. | Alavian SM. A shield against a monster: Hepatitis C in hemodialysis patients. World J Gastroenterol 2009;15(6):641-6. |
| 3. | Alavian SM, Einollahi B, Hajarizadeh B, Bakhtiari S, Nafar M, Ahrabi S. Prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection and related risk factors among Iranian haemodialysis patients. Nephrology (Carlton) 2003;8(5):256-60. |
| 4. | Alavian SM, Hosseini-Moghaddam SM, Rahnavardi M. Hepatitis C among hemodialysis patients: A review on epidemiologic, diagnostic, and therapeutic features. Hepat Mon 2007;7 (3):153-62. |
| 5. | Alavian SM. Hepatitis C, Chronic renal failure, control is possible. Hepat Mon 2006;6 (2):512. |
| 6. | Yang CS, Chang HH, Chou CC, Peng SJ. Isolation effectively prevents the transmission of hepatitis C virus in the hemodialysis unit. J Formosan Med Assoc Taiwan yizhi 2003;102 (2):79-85. |
Correspondence Address:
Seyed-Moayed Alavian
Professor of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Baqiyatallah Research Center for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, P.O. Box 14155-3651, Tehran
Iran
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PMID: 20228532 
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