SCREENING OF HEPATITIS B AND C AMONG PEOPLE VISITING GENERAL PRACTICE CLINICS IN A RURAL DISTRICT OF SINDH, PAKISTAN

Authors

  • Ameet Kumar
  • Saima Lalani
  • Asad Ali Khan Afridi
  • Ali Khan Khuwaja

Abstract

Background: Hepatitis B (HB), Hepatitis C (HC) and their risk factors are amongst the major healthproblems in developing countries including Pakistan. This study aimed to screen for HB and HCamong people who visited General Practice clinics and also to identify the differences of screeningpositive cases by age and sex. Methods: This was a retrospective study conducted in TandoMuhammad Khan city, one of the rural districts of Sindh. All together we reviewed 5989 laboratoryreports of people for hepatitis B and C on consecutive basis from two laboratories. A pre-designed andstructured perform was used to collect the required information. Chi-squared test and univariateanalysis was calculated to assess the difference in HB and HC proportion by age groups and sex.Results: One-fourth of reports were positive for at least one entity whereas 8% and 17% of reviewedreports of adults (>18 years and above) were screened positive for HB and HC respectively. Positivescreened tests were higher among older age group compared to young age group (HB: older agegroup=56.6% vs. younger age group=43.4%; OR=1.07) and (HC: older age group=58.3% vs. youngerage group=41.7%; OR=1.08). In the same way, positive screened tests were higher among mencompared to women (HB: men=67.0% vs. women=33.0%; OR=1.2) and (HC: men=62.0% vs.women=38.0%; OR=1.3). Conclusion: A large proportion of people were screened positive for HBand HC in this study. Prevention and screening are suggested at larger scale for urgent planning andimplementation of intervention strategies in this regard. Further research is also recommended toexplore this important health issue at large scale.Keywords: Screening, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, General Practice

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Published

2010-12-01