Hepatitis C in dialysis patients: relationship to blood transfusions, dialysis and liver disease.
Antibodies to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) were determined in an unselected group of 340 patients with chronic renal failure treated with maintenance dialysis. A second generation hepatitis C virus (HCV) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used and confirmation made by a second generation recombinant immunoblot assay (RIBA). Sixteen patients (4.7%) were anti-HCV positive and 8 (2.4%) were anti-HCV indeterminate. All anti-HCV positive and anti-HCV indeterminate patients had received blood transfusions. No statistically significant differences were found between anti-HCV positive and indeterminate patients considering blood transfusions, dialysis and liver disease. The combined group of anti-HCV positive and indeterminate patients had had more blood transfusions (P < 0.005) and had been on dialysis for a longer period (P < 0.01) compared with anti-HCV negative patients. Further, significant correlation with elevation of transaminases and anti-HCV was observed (P < 0.001). Thirty patients (8.8%) had elevated transaminase levels and 13 (43%) of these were anti-HCV positive or indeterminate. In conclusion, HCV infection accounts for a substantial proportion of liver disease in dialysis patients, probably most often transmitted by blood transfusions but other routes of transmission could not be excluded.
Knudsen
F
F
Department of Nephrology, Herlev Hospital, Denmark.
Wantzin
P
P
Rasmussen
K
K
Ladefoged
S D
SD
Løkkegaard
N
N
Rasmussen
L S
LS
Lassen
A
A
Krogsgaard
K
K
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood; D002648:Child; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000209:etiology* / Q000635:transmission; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D006801:Humans; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000009:adverse effects*; D065227:Transfusion Reaction
D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D000410:Alanine Transaminase