The Ways to How Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C Find Out Their Disease and Risk Factors

Abstract

Introduction: Transmission routes and seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) may vary between countries and geographic regions. In this study, we planned to investigate patients with chronic hepatitis C admitted to our hospital in order to identify associated risk factors of HCV transmission in our region.

Materials and Methods: Eighty-two patients who were admitted to the Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology Outpatient Clink of our hospital between January 2011-December 2014 and who were diagnosed with chronic hepatitis C and/or liver cirrhosis were included into the study.

Results: Forty-six (56.1%) of the patients were female and 36 (43.9%) were male patients. Mean age was 60.8 +/- 10.0 (26-81) year. Most common risk factors were surgical intervention (58.5%) and dental treatment (31.7%). Vast majority of the patients found out about their illnesses during routine examinations (81.7%).

Conclusion: Early detection of the HCV infection is important in the follow-up and treatment of the disease. This study also emphasized the importance of routine screening in the detection of anti-HCV positivity.