title: Prevalence of hepatitis C antibodies among hemodialysis patients in Al-hasa region of saudi arabia.
abstract: The prevalence of anti-HCV antibodies among hemodialysis (HD) patients was studied at King Fahad Hospital, Hofuf, Saudi Arabia. The records of 189 patients undergoing HD were reviewed. The overall prevalence of anti-HCV antibodies was 43.9%. Anti-HCV antibody prevalence was more common among female patients. There was no correlation between repeated blood transfusions and anti-HCV positivity as 4.8% of the patients who did not receive any blood transfusion during HD were positive for anti-HCV antibodies. A positive correlation was observed between the duration on dialysis and anti-HCV antibodies. An annual serocoversion rate of 6.8% was observed in this study.
authors.affiliation: Post-Graduate Department of Medicine, King Fahad Hospital, Hofuf, Al-Hasa, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Saxena
authors.forename: B R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Panhotra
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Naguib
authors.forename: M N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Aboras
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Sundaram
authors.forename: C K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Venkateshappa
authors.forename: W U
authors.initials: WU
authors.lastname: Khan