How Relevant Is Pre-gastrointestinal Endoscopy Screening for HBV and HIV Infections among Nigerian Patients?

Abstract

Purpose: This was to determine the prevalence of HBV and HIV infections among Nigerian patients referred for gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy, and to evaluate the need for pre-screening of patients prior to this procedure. Methods: The data of 772 Nigerian patients referred for (GI) endoscopy were retrospectively reviewed, but out of this number, only 711 patients had the results of their screening tests for HBV and HIV infections available for appraisal. The screening method used for both infections was ELISA. Results: The 772 patients consisted of 420 (54.4%) males and 352 (45.6%) females with a mean age of 50.4±16.5 years and range of 10-100 years. Of the 711 patients with screening results, 574 (80.7%) had UGI endoscopy, while 137 (19.3%) had Colonoscopy. The results showed that 82 (11.5%) and 26 (3.7%) patients were positive for HBV and HIV infections, respectively. Out of the number with HBV infection, 71 (86.6%) had UGI endoscopy, while among those with HIV infection, 21 (80.8%) had UGI endoscopy (P=0.95). Among the patients with HBV infection, 41 (52.6%) were between the ages of 30-49 years, compared to other age groups (P=0.018). Among the patients with HIV infection, 10 (38.4%) were between the ages of 30-49 years. Six (23.1%) patients were less than 30 years of age (P=0.39). Table 1. Among those with HBV infection, 62 (75.6%) patients were males, while 20 (24.4%) were females, and this was significant (P=0.00). Among the patients with HIV infection, 16 (61.5%) were males, while 10 (38.5%) were females (P=0.39). Co-infection of HBV and HIV was observed in eight (1.1%) patients, out of which three (37.5%) patients were in the age group 40-49 years. Six (75.0%) of these patients were males, while two (25.0%) were females (P=0.29) Table 1.Table 1: Age ranges of Patients with HBV and HIV infectionsConclusion: The high prevalence of HBV and HIV infections observed in this study calls for high level precaution to prevent transmission of these infections. Pre-screening of Nigerian patients for HBV and HIV infections is advisable, and the option of dedicating scopes to positive patients may be warranted.