13. Incidence of Hepatitis C virus infection in surgery patients of District Swat, Pakistan
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Abstract
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is predominantly recognized as a major public health concern in Pakistan. The prevalence of HCV infection and its major risk factors have been found out in different populations of various districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Pakistan. However, its incidence in surgery patients remains a mystery; thus, the current study aimed to investigate the incidence of HCV infection among the surgery patients in the district Swat. A total of 304 blood samples (n=500) were collected from the different hospitals of district Swat, especially from Saidu Teaching Hospital, from April 2020 to September 2020. The blood samples were screened through HEALGEN SCIENTIC LLC strips for serological analysis of HCV antibodies. The average incidence of HCV in surgery patients was 6.6%. While the incidence of HCV in surgery patients was higher in females (8%) than in males (6%). We also found that the rate of infection was high in the age group of more than 40, which was 17%, and least in the age group less than 40 years of age which was 3% (P-value <0.191, Odds ratio (OR)=0.442). Furthermore, the sero-incidence of hepatitis was higher in the blood transfused patients 13%. Our results concluded a high incidence rate of HCV infection in the Swat region's surgery patients. To prevent the risk of high incidence, further research on a regional scale is recommended.
Keywords: Chronic hepatitis; Hepatitis C virus; Incidence; Risk-factors; Surgery