Frequency of hepatitis B and C virus infection in emergency surgical patients in jinnah hospital, lahore and assessment of their risk factors

Background: Hepatitis B and C is a global health issue in developing countries because of multiple factors like lack of community health education, illiteracy and poverty. Aim: To find the frequency of Hepatitis B and C virus infection among patients who present in Surgical Emergency and to correlate risk factors for these infections. Study design: Cross sectional study. Methodology: Patients (n=200) were included in present study through non-probability, convenient sampling technique. It was conducted in Accident and Emergency Department, Jinnah Hospital Lahore, following approval from Hospital Ethical Committee from Jan 2018 to Jun 2018. Both male and female patients (12-65 yrs) who underwent emergency surgical procedures, were included while unwilling subjects as well as patients having other medical issues were excluded. Data analyzed by SPSS 21.0v. Results: Thirty four patients were found sero-positive for Anti-HCV Antibodies with prevalence rate of 17.0% and 9 patients (4.5%) were HBsAg positive. Among the sero-positive patients risk factors were IV injections, dental extraction, sharing of shaving razors, jaundice, history of previous surgical operations. Conclusion: This study concluded that there was a declining attitude of HBV infection as compared to HCV. However, educational status of the patients was unsatisfactory. Hence, there is a need to educate the people regarding safety measures. (author)