title: Prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection among hemodialysis patients in the Middle-East: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection prevalence in each country of the Middle-East and the overall prevalence of the region.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this systematic review, we gathered all documents related to HCV infection prevalence among hemodialysis patients in 17 middle-east countries from April 2006 to March 2016. We selected only cross-sectional studies that had proper sampling and measurement methods as well as a valid statistical analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After screening of 7311 documents, 56 studies were selected reporting the prevalence of HCV infection among hemodialysis patients from 10 countries of the region. Seven countries including United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Israel, and Cyprus did not have any relevant document; thus, their latest reports were just mentioned. We performed the meta-analysis and determined the prevalence rates for each country as well as the whole region. The overall HCV infection prevalence among hemodialysis patients in the region was reported to be 25.3%; Egypt and Syria had the highest reported rates while Iran and Lebanon had the lowest. Further investigations are still needed to provide more reliable databases, find main risk factors, and to improve diagnosis and treatment plans, particularly in higher prevalent countries.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Controlling the prevalence and improving the management methods of HCV infection among hemodialysis patients are of a great concern in the Middle-East region.
authors.affiliation: Soheil Ashkani-Esfahani, Seyed Moayed Alavian, Mohammad Salehi-Marzijarani, Baqiyatallah Research Center for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 14155-3651, Iran.
authors.forename: Soheil
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ashkani-Esfahani
authors.affiliation: Soheil Ashkani-Esfahani, Seyed Moayed Alavian, Mohammad Salehi-Marzijarani, Baqiyatallah Research Center for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 14155-3651, Iran.
authors.forename: Seyed Moayed
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Alavian
authors.affiliation: Soheil Ashkani-Esfahani, Seyed Moayed Alavian, Mohammad Salehi-Marzijarani, Baqiyatallah Research Center for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 14155-3651, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Salehi-Marzijarani
mesh_terms: D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D008877:Middle East / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012307:Risk Factors
keywords: Hemodialysis; Hepatitis C; Meta-Analysis; Middle-East; Prevalence; Review