[Anti-HCV in patients transfused, in a health area attended by a family physician. Medical Office 19 de Abril]

Abstract

The infection by the virus the hepatitis C (VHC) constitutes a health problem at world level. This situation has resulted in numerous researchers developing and using different means of diagnosis in order to know the actual prevalence of the virus. The main way of VHC transmission is blood and/or haemoderivates transfusion. It has been estimated that 90% of post-transfusional hepatitis are VHC. This situation motivated us to make a descriptive and transversal study in order to screen VHC in a group of patients who had been transfused with blood and/or haemoderivates. The patients came from the medical doctor's office N(o) 36 belonging the polyclinic "19 de April", in the city of Havana. The objective was to study the prevalence of the virus in our area and also to precise the main causes of the transfusion and the relationship between their number and the presence of anti-HVC. We found 35 patients who had been transfused (5.3%) in the population (653), and from these, three patients (8.5%) were anti-HVC positive. The main cause for having been transfused was anemia, being sicklemia the entity, which reported more patients with anti VHC positive. We also conclude that the probability of having an anti-HVC positive increases proportionally to the number of transfusions; these were significant differences between the groups who received a greater and a smaller number of transfusions.