Awareness Of Hepatitis B Virus Reactivation Among Physicians Administering Immunosuppressive Treatment And Related Clinical Practices

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the awareness and knowledge levels of all physicians administering immunosuppressive treatment concerning hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation, and draw attention to the importance of the subject through evaluation. Methods: The study was carried out by infectious diseases and clinical microbiology specialists in 37 health centers, and it was performed in Turkey between January and March 2017. All specialists providing a written consent and working in the departments of Medical Oncology, Hematology, Dermatology and Venereology, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and Rheumatology of each study center were included in the study. Results: A total of 430 physicians participated in the study. Their mean age was 39.87 +/- 7.42 years, and 47.9% of them were males. During their career, 39.3% of these physicians had encountered patients developing HBV reactivation while receiving immunosuppressive treatment. The rate of encountering patients who died due to HBV reactivation was 6.5%. 97% of physicians who participated, considered the risk of HBV reactivation to be important. 70.2% of physicians stated that guidelines related to HBV reactivation and antiviral treatment for these patients were discussed in the congresses they participated, regarding their specialties. The rate of performing hepatitis screening among physicians whose patients developed HBV reactivation was statistically significantly higher than those physicians who had no patients with HBV reactivation (p