title: Prevalence of hepatitis C antibodies (HCV) in a dialysis population at one center.
abstract: Hepatitis C (HC) has been recently diagnosed by determination of specific antibodies that represent the former so-called non-A, non-B hepatitis. We studied the prevalence of plasma HCV antibodies among 61 unselected patients on hemodialysis (HD) and 43 on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). Plasma C-antibodies were determined through the ELISA test system. Transfusion policy was the same in both groups. The prevalence of hepatitis C virus antibodies was significantly higher in hemodialysis patients than among those on CAPD. Time on dialysis, previous blood transfusions, and renal transplantation seem to increase the prevalence of C hepatitis antibodies among hemodialysis patients. The effect of these parameters on CAPD was smaller. Understanding the reasons for these differences may help prevent this disease among dialysis patients.
authors.affiliation: Hospital La Paz, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Selgas
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Martinez-Zapico
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Bajo
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Romero
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Munoz
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rinon
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Miranda
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Miguel
mesh_terms: D001803:Blood Transfusion; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006436:Hemodialysis Units, Hospital; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000276:immunology*; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D010531:Peritoneal Dialysis, Continuous Ambulatory; D015995:Prevalence; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies