Waseem Ahmed Khan, Madiha Durrani, Riaz Ahmed Chaudhry, Saba Haider Tarar.
Pre-operative Screening of Patients for Hepatitis B&C Virus.
Ophthalmol Update Jan ;12(1):30-2.

Purpose: To screen hepatitis B&C among patients undergoing ocular surgery. Background: Both hepatitis B and C are a common example of nosocomial infections. These are blood borne infections commonly transmitted from health care settings. They are also a source of health hazard to health care professionals. Our aim was to identify the prevalence and risk factors associated with hepatitis B and C among patients with eye diseases. Materials and Methods:This was a prospective observational study, conducted from Jan 2012 to December 2012 in Department of Ophthalmology, DHQ Teaching Hospital, Mirpur, AJK. A total of 1120 patients admitted in eye ward, were screened for hepatitis B&C by immune-chromatographic method. The patients were divided into various ocular groups based on primary diagnosis Results: Out of total 530 patients admitted in eye ward, 289 of them were male and 241 were female. A total of 37 patients (6.98%) approximately 7% were found to be serologically positive for HCV and 15 (2.83%) were found to be serologically positive for HBV, which makes a prevalence of 6.98% and 2.83% respectively. The risk of hepatitis C was increased with advancing age. Conclusion: Prevalence of hepatitis B &C in eye patients is quite high. Therefore, all patients, who need surgery should be routinely screened for hepatitis B & C. This is an alarming not only for patients but for health workers as well. This information should be used to highlight the need for health education and requirement of better and effective universal safety precautions to prevent the spread of HBV and HCV in our hospitals.

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