Al-Naamani Khalid, Al-Zakwani Ibrahim, Al-Sinani Siham, Wasim Fauzia, Daar Shahina
Department of Medicine, Armed Forces Hospital, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman.
Departments of Pharmacology & Clinical Pharmacy, College of Medicine & Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman.
Sultan Qaboos Univ Med J. 2015 Feb;15(1):e46-51. Epub 2015 Jan 21.
Regular blood transfusions are essential for patients with thalassaemia major. However, infections with hepatotropic viruses remain a major concern. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and characteristics of hepatitis C viral (HCV) infection among patients with homozygous beta thalassaemia in a single centre in Oman.
A retrospective chart review of 200 patients treated at the Thalassemia Unit of Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH) in Muscat, Oman, between August 1991 and December 2011 was performed. Relevant demographic and clinical characteristics were collected, including age, gender, HCV status and the presence of endocrinopathies.
A total of 81 patients (41%) were found to be anti-HCV-antibody (anti-HCV)-positive. HCV ribonucleic acid tests were performed on 65 anti-HCV-positive patients and were positive among 33 (51%); the remaining 16 patients died before these tests were available. Anti-HCV-positive patients were significantly older than anti-HCV-negative patients (P <0.001) and were more likely to be diabetic than anti-HCV-negative patients (27% versus 8%; P <0.001). A total of 100 patients had been transfused before they were transferred to SQUH in 1991; of these, 70 (70%) were anti-HCV-positive. Only 11 (11.5%) of the 96 patients who were seronegative in 1991, or who were transfused later, became seropositive.
It is likely that the high prevalence of HCV among multi-transfused thalassaemic patients in Oman is due to blood transfusions dating from before the implementation of HCV screening in 1991 as the risk of HCV-associated transfusions has significantly reduced since then. Additionally, results showed that anti-HCV-positive patients were more likely to be diabetic than anti-HCV-negative patients.
定期输血对重型地中海贫血患者至关重要。然而，感染嗜肝病毒仍是一个主要问题。本研究的目的是评估阿曼一个单一中心的纯合子β地中海贫血患者中丙型肝炎病毒（HCV）感染的患病率及特征。
对1991年8月至2011年12月期间在阿曼马斯喀特苏丹卡布斯大学医院（SQUH）地中海贫血科接受治疗的200例患者进行回顾性病历审查。收集了相关的人口统计学和临床特征，包括年龄、性别、HCV状态和内分泌疾病的存在情况。
共发现81例患者（41%）抗-HCV抗体（抗-HCV）呈阳性。对65例抗-HCV阳性患者进行了HCV核糖核酸检测，其中33例（51%）呈阳性；其余16例患者在这些检测可行之前死亡。抗-HCV阳性患者明显比抗-HCV阴性患者年龄大（P<0.001），且比抗-HCV阴性患者更易患糖尿病（27%对8%；P<0.001）。共有100例患者在1991年转至SQUH之前接受过输血；其中70例（70%）抗-HCV呈阳性。1991年血清学阴性或后来接受输血的96例患者中，只有11例（11.5%）血清学转为阳性。
阿曼多次输血的地中海贫血患者中HCV高患病率可能是由于1991年实施HCV筛查之前的输血所致，因为自那时以来与输血相关的HCV风险已显著降低。此外，结果显示抗-HCV阳性患者比抗-HCV阴性患者更易患糖尿病。
