Seroprevalence of Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C in Inpatients for Alcohol and Drug Addiction Treatment in the Psychiatry Clinic of a Private Hospital

Abstract

Aim: Hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections pose a serious health problem in our country as well as all over the world. The main transmission routes of these agents include parenteral contact with infected blood or body fluids (percutaneous injury), sexual transmission, and contact with blood and body fluids of infected people. Accordingly, people with drug abuse are an important risk group for these infections. The number of studies in this field in Turkish context is limited. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the seroprevalence of HBV and HCV in inpatients for alcohol and substance addiction treatment in a private hospital psychiatry clinic.
 Materials-Methods: This retrospective study relied on the files of the patients who were hospitalized in the Alcohol and Substance Treatment Clinic in the sense that the results of HBsAg, anti-HBs, and anti-HCV parameters were evaluated retrospectively from the hospital automation system.
 Results: Of the 568 patient included in the study, 154 (27.1%) were female, 414 (72.9%) were male, and the mean age was 35 (18-88). Findings revealed that 7 (1.23%) of the patients were positive for HBsAg, 229 (40.4%) for anti-HBs, and 41 (7.21%) for anti-HCV. There was no significant difference between HBsAg and Anti-HCV positivity rates by gender.
 Conclusion: In our study, anti-HCV positivity was detected at a very high rate (7.21%). It can be concluded that the evaluation of these people in terms of test accuracy with HCV RNA as well as treating the infections detected in this group with effective new generation antivirals will also be beneficial with respect to reducing the number of people who can transmit the infection.