부산대학교 도서관

Background: Hepatitis C is a chronic infectious disease caused by hepatitis C virus which has a high burden on the country and individuals. Treatment of this condition could be successful; however, many risk factors could affect the course of treatment. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the degree of serological responses to the antiviral therapy given for hepatitis C virus infection and whether certain risk factors such as genotype, viral load, age, liver function test, and alcohol consumption could influence it. Design: A Cross-Sectional Retrospective Study. Setting: Salmaniya Medical Complex, Bahrain. Method: Sixty-nine Bahraini patients affected with hepatitis C virus were included in the study. These patients were admitted to the hospital from 2008-2013 and were provided with all the necessary medical care and treatment. Data were collected from patients' files and computers using predesigned data collection forms. Result: Only 14 (20.3%) patients achieved a good response. Eight (≤57.1%) were =50 years and 6 (42.9%) were older patients. Patients with genotype 1 and 2 were the least of achievers; the highest percentage of achievers was among genotype 4, 22 (31.9%). Patients with an ALT value of <1.04 IU/L had the highest rate of response to treatment. However, these findings were not statistically significant. Conclusion: Only 14 (20.3%) patients were achievers post-treatment, which indicates that even after treatment of hepatitis C patients there are 55 (79.7%) patients at risk of relapse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]