Dataset Information

Assessing the level of knowledge and available sources of information about hepatitis C infection among HCV-infected Egyptians.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Egypt has the largest proportion of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection worldwide and there is an urgent need to increase community awareness and knowledge about the disease in the country. The main aim of this study was to assess the level of knowledge and awareness about HCV in clinically diagnosed HCV patients in Egypt.

Methods

This was a prospective, cross-sectional study conducted between 1 February 2014 and 30 April 2014 in Cairo, Egypt using validated questionnaire as an instrument for data collection. A structured questionnaire was developed based on similar published surveys. Data collected included demographic characteristics, exposure to the disease, health insurance status, the source of medical information, and knowledge of different routes of transmission; a point was given for each correct answer with a possible score of 0 to 12.

Results

A total of 203 patients took part in this study with a response rate of 90%. Most-142 (70%)-were married, 119 (63%) were unemployed, 127 (62.9%) were aged above 50 years, 88 (45.1%) were living in Cairo, and 45 (22.4%) had a college degree. Half of the participants believed that HCV infection is not transmitted through sex, while 79 (39.9%) did not know that HCV could be transmitted from a mother to her infant during labor. A quarter of participants believed that HCV vaccine is available, and 45 (24.6%) never knew if their treatment was successful. The median knowledge score of HCV infection in the survey was 7.5; 100 (50.3%) participants had ? median knowledge score of HCV infection. Logistic regression analysis showed a duration of infection (OR 1.647, CI 1.189-2.82) and the participants who visited physicians when only they felt sick were less likely to have the above median knowledge score (>?7.5) of HCV infection (OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.19-0.87).

Conclusions

Considering the unsatisfactory level of HCV knowledge among infected patients, Egyptian healthcare authorities should organize national awareness campaigns encouraging HCV testing based on educational interventions and activities to improve the level of knowledge. More investment in research is also needed to limit the further growth of the HCV disease burden in Egypt.

SUBMITTER: Sultan NY

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6007060 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Assessing the level of knowledge and available sources of information about hepatitis C infection among HCV-infected Egyptians.

Sultan Noha Yahia NY YacoobMayet Ahmed A Alaqeel Sinaa Abdulmohsen SA Al-Omar Hussain Abdulrahman HA

BMC public health 20180618 1

<h4>Background</h4>Egypt has the largest proportion of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection worldwide and there is an urgent need to increase community awareness and knowledge about the disease in the country. The main aim of this study was to assess the level of knowledge and awareness about HCV in clinically diagnosed HCV patients in Egypt.<h4>Methods</h4>This was a prospective, cross-sectional study conducted between 1 February 2014 and 30 April 2014 in Cairo, Egypt using validated questionnaire ...[more]

PMID: 29914434

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Project description:Renal transplantation from hepatitis C (HCV) nucleic acid amplification test-positive (NAAT-positive) donors to uninfected recipients has greatly increased the organ donation pool. However, there is concern for adverse outcomes in these recipients due to dysregulated immunologic activation secondary to active inflammation from acute viremia at the time of transplantation. This includes increased rates of cytomegalovirus (CMV) DNAemia and allograft rejection. In this study, we evaluate transcriptional responses in circulating leukocytes to define the character, timing, and resolution of this immune dysregulation and assess for biomarkers of adverse outcomes in transplant patients. We enrolled 67 renal transplant recipients (30 controls, 37 HCV recipients) and performed RNA sequencing on serial samples from one, 3-, and 6-months post-transplant. CMV DNAemia and allograft rejection outcomes were measured. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator was utilized to develop gene expression classifiers predictive of clinical outcomes. Acute HCV incited a marked transcriptomic response in circulating leukocytes of renal transplant recipients in the acute post-transplant setting, despite the presence of immunosuppression, with 109 genes significantly differentially expressed compared to controls. These HCV infection-associated genes were reflective of antiviral immune pathways and generally resolved by the 3-month timepoint after sustained viral response (SVR) for HCV. Differential gene expression was also noted from patients who developed CMV DNAemia or allograft rejection compared to those who did not, although transcriptomic classifiers could not accurately predict these outcomes, likely due to sample size and variable time-to-event. Acute HCV infection incites evidence of immune activation and canonical antiviral responses in the human host even in the presence of systemic immunosuppression. After treatment of HCV with antiviral therapy and subsequent aviremia, this immune activation resolves. Changes in gene expression patterns in circulating leukocytes are associated with some clinical outcomes, although larger studies are needed to develop accurate predictive classifiers of these events.

Dataset Information

Assessing the level of knowledge and available sources of information about hepatitis C infection among HCV-infected Egyptians.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Assessing the level of knowledge and available sources of information about hepatitis C infection among HCV-infected Egyptians.

Similar Datasets

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