Aim: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is common among the Egyptians.
This prevalence is higher among hemodialysis (HD) patients in whom
anemia is a common finding. Recently, some case reports and few studies
indicated that red cell status increased after hepatitis C viral
infection among HD patients. The aim of our study is to investigate
whether HCV-positive HD patients have higher hemoglobin (Hb) and
hematocrit (HCT) values compared to HCV-negative patients. Methods:
Ninety-nine chronic (HD) patients were the subject of this study. Their
HCV status was determined by anti-HCV antibodies and confirmed with RNA
polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Those with a history of blood
transfusion or massive blood loss during the last 6 months were
excluded from the study. Results: 70.7% of our patients tested positive
for anti-HCV antibody (56.9 % were male). The mean age for HCV positive
group was (40.41±14.17 years) while it was (47.35±19.18
years) for HCV negative group (P=0.08). HCV positive group has a longer
hemodialysis duration (66.54 ± 43.92 months) compared to HCV
negative patients (30.96±23.17 months, P=0.006). Mean Hb was
similar in HCV-positive compared to HCV negative group (10.32±2.03
versus 10.22±1.52 gm/dl respectively) (P=0.63). Mean HCT values
were also similar in both groups being 30.94± 6.089% in HCV
positive versus 30.77± 4.53% in HCV negative group, respectively
(P= 0.094). Fifty-five patients (39 HCV positive and 16 were HCV
negative) received erythropoietin (EPO) therapy whilst only twenty
patients received IV iron. Mean Erythropoietin dose was
5000±2236.06 Units/week in HCV- positive patients versus
6250±2720.29 Units /week in HCV - negative group (P=0.09). Liver
function tests were normal except for alanine aminotransferase (ALT)
that was significantly higher among HCV-positive compared to
HCV-negative patients (31.75±36.4 vs 15.1±7.21 U/L, P=0.05).
Conclusion: HCV-positive and HCV-negative Egyptian chronic hemodialysis
patients have comparable hemoglobin as well as hematocrit levels and
the erythropoietin dose was not influential as its lower value in
HCV-positive patients did not reach a statistically significant level