Risk Factors for Hepatitis C: A Clinical Study

Sonu Gupta ； Surender Pal Singh Sodhi ； Gursimrat Kaur Brar ； Ravinder Nath Bansal

《Journal of Medical Sciences》 38卷5期 (2018/10) Pp. 215-221

https://doi.org/10.4103/jmedsci.jmedsci_155_17

摘要

Introduction: Hepatitis C is caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV), which is classified into 6 genotypes. It leads to chronic liver disease in majority of cases resulting in morbidity and mortality. Awareness of cause of a disease prevents its progression in the community so knowledge regarding the cause of infection (HCV) is necessary to devise a strategy to prevent its spread. The present study was undertaken to assess the incidence, prevalence, and cause of Hepatitis C among the Malwa region of Punjab, India. Materials and Methods: Seven hundred and forty hepatitis C‑positive patients were included in the study. Prevalidated questionnaire was designed to collect their demographic information including age, gender, demographic area, occupation, and clinical information including the history of dental treatment (extraction, root canal treatment, and scaling), blood donation, blood transfusion, surgical intervention, drug abuse (oral or intravenous), and tattooing. Collected data were analyzed by statistical tests. Results: Among the study population, a large number of patients, that is, 84.8% presented with a history of dental treatment indicating that a number of 190 (25.6%) patients had received dental treatment from family dentist and 175 (23.6%) from referral dentist, that is, from the government hospital. A large number of patients 270 (36.5%) had received dental treatment from Quacks in the past. Blood transfusion was received by 8.1% and 17.6% had donated blood in the past. Conclusion: The etiology of HCV is multifactorial with inadequate awareness about the routes of transmission of infection among patients, therefore, knowledge regarding this issue is important. The use of disposable syringes, sterilization protocol, disposal, strictly following biomedical waste management guidelines, and organizing continued medical and dental education programs, and workshops will help in preventing the spread of HCV infection.

關鍵字

Dental treatment ； blood donation ； blood transfusion ； hepatitis C ； drug abuse