Prevalence of Hepatitis c virus (HCV) infection and related risk factors among Iranian patients on hemodialysis

Backgrounds: Management of HCV-related liver disease is a major health concern in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing hemodialysis. We conducted this study to investigate the epidemiology of HCV infection in patients on hemodialysis as there is no sufficient and comprehensive data in this issue from Iran. METHODS: We conducted a prospective case series study of 838 patients on hemodialysis in Tehran, Iran. Patients were selected randomly (cluster sampling) and all were screened for anti-HCV antibodies, using ELISA 3rd and confirmed using RIBA 2nd. RESULTS: We found that 111 patients (13.2%) were infected. Applying univariate analysis, longer duration on hemodialysis (p = 0.000), more weekly dialysis sessions (p = 0.03), history of blood transfusion (p = 0.03) and history of previous renal transplantation (p = 0.01) were associated with a higher rate of HCV infection. Multivariate analysis revealed that only length of time on dialysis (p = 0.000) and history of blood transfusion (p = 0.02) were significantly associated with HCV infection. The more the units transfused, the higher the rate of HCV infection. CONCLUSION: Our results showed a high rate of HCV infection among hemodialysis patients in Iran. Early transplantation and avoidance of blood transfusion as much as possible are the two most important practical interventions to reduce HCV exposure rates in patients on hemodialysis. Periodic screening of patients can revealed the new infected cases for early treatment.