title: Prevention of hepatitis C virus in hemodialysis patients: five years experience from a single center.
abstract: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been a significant problem in hemodialysis (HD) patients. In general, it carries significant morbidity including liver cirrhosis, liver cell failure and hepatoma. The study was conducted on 36 seronegative HD patients. All patients were managed with strict application of infection control guidelines as well as isolation of HCV-positive patients. None of the patients received any blood transfusions and were managed with iron and erythropoietin. After five years of follow-up, we found that the incidence of HCV seroconversion was zero. Our study further suggests that following infection control guidelines, isolation of seropositive patients and minimizing blood transfusions can help in prevention of HCV transmission among HD patients.
authors.affiliation: Nephrology Division, Medical Department, Dawmat Aljandal General Hospital, Aljouf, Saudi Arabia. welloook@gmail.com
authors.forename: Waleed Z
authors.initials: WZ
authors.lastname: Mohamed
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001803:Blood Transfusion; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006436:Hemodialysis Units, Hospital; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000276:immunology; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission; D006769:Hospitals, General; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010356:Patient Isolation; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012529:Saudi Arabia / Q000453:epidemiology; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult