Prevalence of Hepatitis C Virus infection among patients admitted in medical wards in Port Moresby General Hospital
- Author:
David Linge
1
;
David Tiwekuri
2
;
Valerie Imanaui
2
Author Information
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords: Hepatitis C Virus, Hospital, Prevalence, Positive, Negative, Borderline, Infection
- From: Pacific Journal of Medical Sciences 2018;18(1):21-26
- CountryPapua New Guinea
- Language:English
- Abstract: The major objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of HCV infection among selected patients admitted in the medical wards in Port Moresby General Hospital (PMGH). This hospital based cross-sectional study was carried out in 2012 and 2013. Patients were selected after their routine clinical examination by the clinical consultant during ward round. About 3ml of blood was obtained from the blood already collected for routine laboratory tests. The plasma obtained from each blood sample was stored at – 20 C till required for analysis. The Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) Commercial Kit for qualitative detection of IgM-class antibodies to HCV in human plasma was used for analysis of the plasma samples. Three recommended cut-off points and criteria (Positive, Negative and Borderline) were used for the qualitative interpretation of the results. Appropriate ethical approval and permission were obtained from the various authorities including the Medical Research Advisory Committee (MRAC), National Department of Health (NDOH) PNG. Informed consent was also obtained from the 117 patients selected for this study. The mean age of all the patients was 36.0 ± 13.9 years and their age range was 14 to 63 years. Of the 117 plasma samples 16 (13.7%) were positive for HCV IgM, 11 (9.4%) were borderline and 90 (76.9%7) were negative for HCV IgM. The clinical diagnosis for admission of the 16 patients with positive HCV IgM included 5 (31.3%) with cardiovascular disorders (CVD), 3 (18.7%) with pneumonia, 3 (18.7%) with hepatic liver disease, 2 (12.5%) with HIV and 3 (18.7%) with TB-meningitis. Of the 5 patients with CVD two of them had Rheumatic heart disease with mitral regurgitation. The data obtained in this hospital based study revealed the extent of HCV infection among patients admitted in PMGH with different medical diagnosis. It can be considered as baseline data for healthcare providers to have a first glance at the extent of HCV prevalence among the patients in Port Moresby General Hospital and to a limited extent among the general population in Port Moresby.
- Full text:Pac J Med Sci Vol 18 No 1, 2018 pp 21-26.pdf
