Frequency and the risk factors of hepatitis C virus in pregnant women; A hospital based descriptive study in Gadap Town Karachi

Objective: To determine the frequency and the risk factors of hepatitis C virus in pregnant women at Al-Tibri Medical College & Hospital in Gadap Town Karachi.

Methods: This was a descriptive cross sectional study conducted at Obstetrics & Gynecology OPD of Al-Tibri Medical College & Hospital, Isra University Karachi Campus from 10th June to 10th September 2016. A total of 400 pregnant women of 16-45 years of age, who came in outpatient department for antenatal checkup were selected for the study. The diagnosed cases of Hepatitis C were excluded from the study. Detailed history including age, parity, risk factor like history of transfusion, previous surgeries, vaginal deliveries was taken and relevant examination was performed. Patients on routine antenatal investigation if found to have Anti HCV positive on Immunochromatography Test (ICT) method were further confirmed by Elisa. A well designed proforma was used for data collection.

Results: During the period of 3 months 400 women in antenatal clinic were tested for hepatitis C, out of which 27 (6.6%) were positive for HCV antibodies. The age of the women included ranges from 16-45 years. Thirteen (7.9%) pregnant women having HCV +ve antibodies fell in 26-30 years of age group. From 27 HCV +ve patients, 19 (70.3%) were multigravida & 8 (29.6%) were primigravida. Majority of the patients (77%) had history of injections.

Conclusion: There is high prevalence of Hepatitis C infection among pregnant female in our setup. The possible risk factors are injection, blood transfusion and surgery.