Prevalence of Viral Hepatitis B and C Markers in Multitransfused Patients with Chronic Kidney DiseaseCompared with The General Population in Albania

Objective

Evaluation of the prevalence of viral hepatitis markers in CKD patients and comparison with the prevalence in family replacement donors as a control group of the general population in Albania.

Methods

64 patients with CKD treated with three or more blood transfusions were evaluated for Hepatitis B and C markers. They were divided in hemodialysed (HD) and non-hemodialysed (Non- HD) patients. We compared the prevalence of HBV and HCV markers founded in these patients with those of blood donors group which includes 1993 subjects divided in two categories: regular blood donors 625 subjects and family replacement donors 1368 subjects, the later being considered as control group.

Result

The prevalence of viral hepatitis B and C markers found in CKD patients were significantly higher than those of the control group (27% and 31% vs 8.5% and 2%). There are no significant differences of HBsAg prevalence in HD and Non-HD patients, but there is a significant one in the presence of anti HCV in HD patients. We also assessed the impact of age and temporal duration of hemodialysis in this prevalence. We confirm that the prevalence of HCV and HBV markers is significantly higher in CKD compared to the general Albanian population.

Conclusions

The amount of blood transfusions and the age of patients are important risk factors for the spread of these infections.