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- Title
Hepatitis B and C among Multi-Transfused Pediatric Thalassemic Patients in Sana'a City, Yemen: A Single-Center Retrospective Study.
- Authors
Hudna, Ahmed S.; Salah, Adeeb A.; Almaqrami, Ahmed A. S.; Senan, Adam F.; Berman, Farook A.; Ali, Ibrahim M.; Al-Khalqi, Mohammed A.; Hamas, Mohammed S.; Al-Shoaibi, Omar H.; Ali, Waheeb M.; Al-Arashani, Yahya A.
- Abstract
Objective: To determine the prevalence of hepatitis B and C infections and their association with repeated blood transfusions among thalassemic children attending the Yemen Society for Thalassemia and Genetic Blood Disorders (YSTGBD) in Sana'a city, Yemen. Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study analyzed the medical records of 195 thalassemic children aged <18 years taken who were attending the YSTGBD from January 2008 to December 2018. Data about the gender and age of the child, time of thalassemia diagnosis, frequency of monthly blood transfusions, hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination status, hepatitis B infection and hepatitis C virus (HCV) seropositivity were retrieved from the records into a data collection sheet. Data were then analyzed and summarized as frequencies and proportions. The association between the independent variables and infection with hepatitis B and/or hepatitis C was tested using the chi-square test. Results: The majority of thalassemic children attending the YSTGBD were males (58.5%), aged 8 years or older (81.0%), diagnosed with thalassemia at 6 months of age or older (71.8%, were receiving =500 ml of transfused blood per month (88.7%) and had been vaccinated against HBV (72.8%). Regarding the serostatus for viral hepatitis, 15.4% (30/195) of children were seropositive for the antibodies against HCV, 13.3% (26/195) were infected with hepatitis B as confirmed by HBsAg seropositivity, and 4.1% (8/195) were concomitantly seropositive for HBsAg and anti-HCV. Not getting vaccinated against HBV was significantly associated with infection with HBV (P <0.001), where 45.3% of unvaccinated children were seropositive compared to 1.4% of vaccinated children. In contrast, gender, age, age at thalassemia diagnosis and the quantity of monthly transfused blood were not significantly associated with infection with hepatitis B, anti-HCV seropositivity, or concomitant seropositivity for HBsAg and anti-HCV among thalassemic children. Conclusions: Viral hepatitis is a major problem for thalassemic children seeking healthcare in institutions of concern in Yemen, but it is rather difficult to assess the status of hepatitis C infection because of the lack of confirmatory tests. On the other hand, vaccination against HBV is significantly associated with a lower prevalence of hepatitis B among thalassemic children, highlighting the need for vaccinating all thalassemic children before enrollment in specialized centers of care. Thalassemic children should be screened for blood-borne viruses, including hepatitis viruses, before the establishment of regular blood transfusions.
- Subjects
YEMEN (Republic); HEPATITIS B; HEPATITIS C; HEPATITIS viruses; VIRAL hepatitis; DISEASE prevalence; GENETIC disorders; VACCINATION
- Publication
Yemeni Journal for Medical Sciences, 2022, Vol 16, Issue 1, p7
- ISSN
2227-9601
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.20428/yjms.v16i1.2008