Epidemiology of Chronic Hepatitis C Infections at a Tertiary Care Centre in Oman
Journal Title: Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal - Year 2017, Vol 17, Issue 4
Abstract
Objectives: Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) is a leading cause of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) worldwide. However, there is a lack of data regarding the epidemiology of CHC in Oman. Tis study aimed to describe the clinicopathological characteristics and outcomes of CHC-infected patients at a tertiary care hospital in Oman. Methods: Tis retrospective descriptive hospital-based study included all CHC-infected patients who presented to the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH) in Muscat, Oman, between January 2010 and December 2015. Te baseline demographic, clinical, laboratory and radiological data of the patients were analysed. Results: A total of 603 CHC-infected patients were identifed during the study period; of these, 65.8% were male and the mean age was 44.8 ± 16.5 years. Te main risk factors associated with CHC infection were intravenous drug abuse (23.9%) and a history of blood transfusions (20.7%). Te most prevalent virus genotypes were 1 and 3 (44.0% and 35.1%, respectively). Upon initial presentation, 33.0% of the cohort had liver cirrhosis; of these, 48.7% had decompensated cirrhosis and 23.1% had HCCs. Liver transplantation was only performed for 7.5% of the cirrhosis patients, mostly as a curative treatment for HCC. Conclusion: Te implementation of national policies to prevent hepatitis C transmission and encourage the early screening of at-risk patients is recommended to reduce the burden and consequences of this disease in Oman.
Authors and Affiliations
Said A. Al-Busaf| Department of Medicine, College of Medicine & Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman, Halima Al-Shuaili| Internal Medicine Residency Programme, Oman Medical Specialty Board, Muscat, Oman, Heba Omar| Department of Medicine, Armed Forces Hospital, Muscat, Oman, Haifa Al-Zuhaibi| Department of Medicine, College of Medicine & Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman, L. Jeyaseelan| Department of Statistics & Health Information, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman, Department of Biostatics, Christian Medical College & Hospital, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India, Khalid Al-Naamani| Department of Medicine, Armed Forces Hospital, Muscat, Oman
Keywords
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- EP ID EP14816
- DOI 10.18295/squmj.2017.17.04.005
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