Hepatitis C viral infection is a common infection in hemodialysis units,
according to a report by Dr. Brian J.G. Pereira of Tufts University in
the the January 25, 1996 edition of Family Practice News.
Dr. Pereira points to data from eight studies that indicate a 16% prevalence
rate of infection in nearly 2,500 dialysis patients without a history of
blood transfusion - a rate “considerably higher” than that seen in the
general population.
Recent studies recommend regular testing for HBV and HCV among hemodialysis patients Though uncommon,
new hepatitis virus infections were detected among patients with normal ALT tests (Harvey S. Bartnof, MD,
,
July 9 2000). Reports at the Digestive Disease Week 2000 that was held in San Diego,
California between May 21-24, 2000 reveal that in a study of 51 patients with CRF (chronic renal failure),
42 had a normal ALT and ten of them (24%) had detectable HCV RNA. Among the remaining nine patients with an elevated ALT, five of them (56%) had detectable HCV RNA.
