Background: Among patients with renal insufficiency undergoing chronic dialysis treatment, chronic hepatitis due to infection with viruses of the hepatitis B (HBV) or hepatitis C (HCV) type represents a serious medical problem. In contrast to other countries, detailed statistics on the prevalence of HBV and HCV infection are not available for dialysed patients in Switzerland.
Methods: The present study is based on a nationwide survey among the Swiss dialysis population which evaluated the prevalence of patients positive for either the HBs antigen (reflecting HBV infection) or anti-HCV antibodies (reflecting HCV infection) in 1999. From our survey we collected data on 1713 haemodialysis and 226 peritoneal dialysis patients, representing 92 and 65% of the respective dialysis populations in Switzerland.
Results: Of all patients (haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis), 6.59% were HBV or HCV marker positive (HBV: 1.44%, HCV: 5.05%). In haemodialysis patients the prevalence was clearly higher for HBV (1.63%) and HCV (5.72%) compared to patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (0.88 and 3.09% respectively). Laboratory parameters of hepatitis--as evidenced by an increase in liver transaminases--were present in 4% of the entire dialysis cohort, 0.6% having an increase in ALAT beyond 1.5 times the normal range. Patients undergoing treatment in haemodialysis units which do not implement additional precautions to prevent the spread of HCV among patients were more likely to be HCV marker positive with laboratory signs of hepatitis. A similar correlation was observed between HBV or HCV marker positivity and the number of patients treated per haemodialysis unit. Finally, the percentage of HBV/HCV marker positive patients on the Swiss kidney transplant list is comparable with that of HBV/HCV marker positive patients in the entire dialysis population.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Targeted therapy for glioblastoma utilizing hyaluronic acid-engineered liposomes for adriamycin delivery.
Nanotechnology
January 2025
Nanjing Medical University, Department of Neurosurgery, The Affiliated Huaian No.1 People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029, CHINA.
Glioblastoma (GBM) is a malignant tumor with highly heterogeneous and invasive characteristics leading to a poor prognosis. The CD44 molecule, which is highly expressed in GBM, has emerged as a highly sought-after biological marker. Therapeutic strategies targeting the cell membrane protein CD44 have emerged, demonstrating novel therapeutic potential.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRisk-stratified Care Improves Pain-related Knowledge and Reduces Psychological Distress for Low Back Pain: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Trial.
Clin Orthop Relat Res
January 2025
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Brooke Army Medical Center, JBSA Fort Sam Houston, TX, USA.
Background: A number of efforts have been made to tailor behavioral healthcare treatments to the variable needs of patients with low back pain (LBP). The most common approach involves the STarT Back Screening Tool (SBST) to triage the need for psychologically informed care, which explores concerns about pain and addresses unhelpful beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. Such beliefs that pain always signifies injury or tissue damage and that exercise should be avoided have been implied as psychosocial mediators of chronic pain and can impede recovery.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExamining Concurrent Associations Between Gesture Use, Developmental Domains, and Autistic Traits in Toddlers With Down Syndrome.
J Speech Lang Hear Res
January 2025
Down Syndrome Program, Division of Developmental Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, MA.
Purpose: Toddlers with Down syndrome (DS) showcase comparable or higher rates of gestures than chronological age- and language-matched toddlers without DS. Little is known about how gesture use in toddlers with DS relates to multiple domains of development, including motor, pragmatics, language, and visual reception (VR) skills. Unexplored is whether gesture use is a good marker of social communication skills in DS or if gesture development might be more reliably a marker of motor, language, pragmatics, or VR skills.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHigh prevalence of undocumented SARS-CoV-2 infections revealed by analysis of nucleocapsid-specific IgG responses in diagnosed and undiagnosed individuals.
PLOS Glob Public Health
January 2025
Public Health Agency of Sweden, Solna, Sweden.
Acute SARS-CoV-2 infections are not always diagnosed; hence an unknown proportion of all infections are not documented. SARS-CoV-2 can induce spike and nucleocapsid protein specific IgG antibodies, which can be detected in seroprevalence studies to identify a previous infection. However, with the introduction of vaccines containing the spike protein it is no longer possible to use spike-IgG as a marker of infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTransgene-free genome editing in poplar.
New Phytol
January 2025
Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Ghent, 9052, Belgium.
Precise gene-editing methods are valuable tools to enhance genetic traits. Gene editing is commonly achieved via stable integration of a gene-editing cassette in the plant's genome. However, this technique is unfavorable for field applications, especially in vegetatively propagated plants, such as many commercial tree species, where the gene-editing cassette cannot be segregated away without breaking the genetic constitution of the elite variety.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!