Author/Authors :
Bazi، Ali نويسنده Cancer Molecular Pathology Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Imam Reza Hospital, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, IR Iran , , Mirimoghaddam، Ebrahim نويسنده Department of Genetics, Genetics of Non-Communicable Disease Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, IR Iran , , Rostami، Daryoush نويسنده Faculty of Allied Medical Sciences, Zabol University of Medical Sciences, Zabol, IR Iran , , Dabirzadeh، Mansour نويسنده Department of Microbiology, School of Public Health, Zabol University of Medical Sciences, Zabol, Iran. Dabirzadeh, Mansour
Abstract :
Hepatitis is a serious blood born infection in patients with β-thalassemia major (β-TM). There was no previous report on hepatitis prevalence in patients with β-TM in Zabol, Iran. The current study aimed to evaluate characteristics of hepatitis in patients with β-TM visiting Imam Khomeini Hospital of Zabol, in Sistan and Baluchistan province of Iran. There were 90 patients with β-TM. General demographic and laboratory results were obtained by interviews and reviewing clinical and laboratory histories. Data for anti-HCV, HBs antigen and anti-HBs were extracted from latest archived records, and analyzed using SPSS ver. 19. Males and females comprised 51% and 49% of the patients, respectively. Mean age of the patients was 14.8±7.4 years old. Anti-HCV and HBs antigen were detected in 10% and 3.3% of the patients, respectively. Significant difference was found between the mean age of anti-HCV positive (20.1 ± 3.6, 95% CI: 17.3 - 22.9) and negative (14.2 ± 7.5, 95% CI: 12.5 - 15.9) patients (P = 0.02). Mean ferritin value was measured 4702 ± 2743 ng/mL. A significant correlation was observed between serum ferritin level and age (r = 0.3, P = 0.01). Hepatic enzymes, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) had mean levels of 51.8 ± 32.8 IU/L and 58.8 ± 59 IU/L, respectively. No significant association was identified between hepatitis status and either ferritin or hepatic enzymes levels. Results demonstrated the relatively high prevalence of HCV infection in the patients. Applying sensitive methods to screen blood units is recommended to minimize the risk of transfusion associated hepatitis.
