Frequency of Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C Infection in Patients Undergoing Preoperative Assessment for Cataract Surgery in Sialkot
Submission: 01 May 2023 | Acceptance: 03 June 2023 | Publication: 04 July 2023
1 Dr. Sadaf Anwar Qureshi, Raza Ali, Kazim Raza, Khizar Hayat
1Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad
2PIMS, Islamabad
Corresponding: Dr. Sadaf Anwar Qureshi, Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad
ABSTRACT
Purpose: To find out the prevalence of Hepatitis B and C among patients planned for
cataract surgery in Sialkot region.
Study design: A quantitative descriptive study.
Place and duration of study: This study was conducted in a Tertiary care Hospital in Sialkot from 1st July to 31st December 2024.
Material and Methods: In the six months study period 462 patients were diagnosed to have cataract in one or both eyes and planned for surgery. All these patients were pre operatively screened for Hepatitis B and C virus in the hospital laboratory. Data of positive cases was analysed using various variables.
Results: Total 462 patients were planned for cataract surgery, 263 (56.92%) were males and 199 (43.08%) females. They were all screened for HBV and HCV in hospital laboratory.
There were 46 (9.95%) positive cases, 22 (4.76%) were males and 24 (5.19%) females. HBs
Ag was positive in 9 (1.95%) and anti HCV in 37 (8.00%) patients. In gender comparison
HBV was positive in 5 males (1.08%) and 4 (0.86%) female, whereas HCV was detected in 17 (3.68%) males and 20 (4.32%) female patients respectively. None of the patient was suffering from both hepatitis B and C simultaneously. Mean age of our study participants was 67.5 years.
Conclusion: The prevalence of Hepatitis B and C is high and awareness about its prevention and transmission is limited in Pakistan. Therefore all patients planned for any interventional procedure must be screened pre operatively to reduce the risk of transmission.
Key Words: Cataract Surgery, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C.