The burden of HCV among prevalent hemodialysis patients after the National Egyptian HCV Eradication program

The Egyptian Journal of Immunology
Volume 31 (2), April, 2024
Pages: 112 – 121.
www.Ejimmunology.org
https://doi.org/10.55133/eji.310212
Iman I. Sarhan1, Magdy M. ELSharkawy1, Maha M. El Gaafary2, Doaa M. T. Hendam3, and Khaled Gouda1
1Department of Internal Medicine & Nephrology, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo Egypt.

2Department of Public Health & Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo Egypt.

3Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, El Manzala Central Hospital, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt.

Corresponding author:
Doaa M. T. Hendam, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, El Manzala Central Hospital, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt.
Email: doaahendam77@gmail.com

Abstract

In the first phase of its treatment program, Egypt aimed to treat 250,000 people annually until 2020, thereby reducing the number of viremic patients and limiting hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission. Egypt strives to eradicate HCV and HCV-associated morbidity by 2030. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of HCV infection among end-stage renal disease patients and the reasons for non-treatment among those offered free medication. This multi-center cross-sectional study was conducted during the period from November 2022 to April 2023. The study included 500 patients receiving hemodialysis (HD) sessions on a regular basis for more than three months in Dakahlia Governorate. According to patients` medical history, we found that 23.4% of patients had previous HCV infection. Of these, 12.6% received treatment, and 10.8% did not receive treatment due to a variety of reasons. For instance, some patients were unaware of the drug’s availability, five patients (1%) feared side effects, 43 patients (8.6%) did not require treatment, and five patients (1%) had other causes as contraindications of drugs, noncompliance and deterioration of health status. In addition, 20.4% of patients were reported to have fully recovered, while 0.8% had a recurrence. After investigations, 1% of patients had positive hepatitis B surface antigen (HbsAg), 23.4% positive HCV Ab, and 4.2% positive HCV by the polymerase chain reaction. In conclusion, the low prevalence of HCV among HD patients confirms that HCV infection is not currently a significant health concern among patients on maintenance HD.

Keywords:
Hepatitis C virus (HCV), Egypt, Hemodialysis

Date received:
28 February 2023; accepted: 23 March 2024

PMID:
38615268

 

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