1. Hepatitis C seroprevalence in an at-risk population in the southwest Madrid region of Spain.
- Author
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Alonso López S, Agudo Fernández S, García Del Val A, Martínez Abad M, López Hermosa Seseña P, Izquierdo MJ, Núñez I, Berbel León S, Visedo Campillo L, Guisado Pérez C, Sánchez Lozano S, Mariño Pfeiffer I, García Bermúdez L, Sánchez Jiménez FJ, López Vega E, Zambrano Álvarez J, Castro Pastor ML, Montes Ramírez G, Murillo C, Villafranca Ortega N, Ayuso Hernández I, Espejo M, Lasala López P, Rodríguez Caravaca G, Carrascosa Aguilar B, Gutiérrez García ML, and Fernández Rodríguez C
- Subjects
- Adult, Aged, Comorbidity, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Hepatitis C complications, Humans, Liver Cirrhosis epidemiology, Liver Cirrhosis etiology, Male, Mass Screening, Middle Aged, Primary Health Care, RNA, Viral blood, Risk Factors, Risk-Taking, Seroepidemiologic Studies, Spain epidemiology, Urban Population, Viremia epidemiology, Hepatitis C epidemiology, Hepatitis C Antibodies blood
- Abstract
Introduction: The estimated seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in Spain is 1.7%, but is much higher in the at-risk population. The most efficient national screening strategy is unclear., Aims: To estimate the prevalence of HCV among the at-risk population seen in primary care (PC), and to determine their epidemiological profile., Materials and Methods: Cross-sectional descriptive prevalence study that included adult patients with risk factors for HCV infection seen in PC in the southwest Madrid region between 2010 and 2012., Results: A total of 158 patients (men=51.3%), mean age 46 years (SD=16.6), were included. The most common risk factors were hypertransaminasaemia (44.3%) and major surgery (13.3%). Immigration, unsafe sexual practices, and tattoos or body piercing were more prevalent in patients younger than 45 years of age. Fifteen patients (9.5%) were positive for anti-HCV; 9 of these (5.7%) were HCV-ARN positive. Of the positive patients, 4 (44.4%) had significant fibrosis at diagnosis (F3-F4). Male patients had a higher rate of positive anti-HCV results (13.8 vs. 5.3%; P=.072), as did patients older than 45 years of age (12.8 vs. 6.3%; P=.167). Intravenous and intranasal drug use were associated with a higher rate of positive anti-HCV results (50 vs. 8.5%; P=.005 and 66.7 vs. 8.4%; P=.001, respectively)., Conclusions: Patients with risk factors for HCV infection have high seroprevalence. Screening programmes must therefore be implemented to detect HCV infection in this population in PC., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier España, S.L.U., AEEH y AEG. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2016
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