Dialysis patients are commonly infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), and such infections are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. A team of international researchers assessed trends in the prevalence, incidence, and risk factors for HCV infection among more than 82,000 dialysis patients as defined by a documented diagnosis or antibody positivity using the Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study.
Akiromaru/Getty Images
They found that overall, among prevalent hemodialysis patients, HCV prevalence was nearly 10% during 2012-2015. The prevalence ranged from a low of 4% in Belgium to as high as 20% in the Middle East, with intermediate prevalence in China, Japan, Italy, Spain, and Russia. However, the prevalence of HCV decreased over time in most countries participating in more than one phase of DOPPS, and prevalence was around 5% among patients who had initiated dialysis within less than 4 months.
The incidence of . Although most units reported no seroconversions, 10% of units experienced three or more cases over a median of 1.1 years.
The researchers also found that high HCV prevalence in the hemodialysis unit was a powerful facility-level risk factor for seroconversion, but the use of isolation stations for HCV-positive patients was not associated with significantly lower seroconversion rates.
“Overall, despite a trend toward lower HCV prevalence among hemodialysis patients, the prevalence of HCV infection remains higher than in the general population,” wrote Michel Jadoul, MD, Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, and colleagues.
Their report, sponsored by Merck, appeared in Kidney International. A number of the authors reported being speakers or consultants for a variety of pharmaceutical companies; two of the authors are employees of Merck. Support for the ongoing DOPPS Program is provided without restriction on publications.
SOURCE: Jadoul M et al. Kidney Int. 2019;95:939-47.