HIV Antibodies among Patients on Maintenance

PURPOSE / AIM Compared to the general population, Hemodialysis (HD) patients have been shown to be at higher risk of blood borne viral infections among which include Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and Human immune deficiency virus (HIV). With increasing access to HD in Cameroon, we opted to assess the prevalence of these viral infections among chronic HD patients of the Douala General Hospital dialysis center. METHODS From October to December 2012, all consenting patients of this center were screened for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and anti-HIV antibodies. HBsAg was determined using a commercial third generation assay (BIOREX®). Anti HIV was first determined using a rapid HIV 1 and 2 Ag/Ab Combo test and confirmed using ImmunoComb ® II HIV 1 & 2 BiSpot. RESULTS A total of 166 patients were studied of whom 63.9 % were men. Mean age was 49.2 ± 14.2 years and median duration in dialysis was 24months [(Interquartile range (QR):8 – 42]. Hypertension was the main aetiology of end stage renal disease (ESRD) in 25.9 % of patients. In the study population, 18.7 % of patients had markers of at least one viral infection; HBsAg 7.8 % and HIV 10.8 % with only one patient (0.6%) being co-infected. Longer duration in dialysis was associated with lower prevalence of both infections, odd ratio (OR) 0.2 (95%CI 0.03 – 0.8, p<0.01) for HBsAg and 0.3 (95%CI 0.1 – 1.0, p<0.05) for HIV. No association was found with a history of STI, scarification and previous transfusions. CONCLUSION HBV and HIV infections are common among dialysis patients in Douala thereby warranting strict adherence to infection control measures