Avaliação de uma estratégia de identificação de portadores de hepatite c em unidades ambulatoriais e de pronto-atendimento

• Ano de defesa: 2018
• Autor(a) principal: Gardona, Rodrigo Galvao Bueno [UNIFESP]
• Tipo de documento: Tese
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: por
• Instituição de defesa: Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP)
• Palavras-chave em Português: Hepatitis C; Prevalence; Age groups; Brazil; Outpatient clinics; Emergency room; Hepatite C; Prevalência; Grupos etários; Brasil; Assistência ambulatorial; Pronto-socorro
• Link de acesso: https://sucupira.capes.gov.br/sucupira/public/consultas/coleta/trabalhoConclusao/viewTrabalhoConclusao.jsf?popup=true&id_trabalho=6372542; https://repositorio.unifesp.br/handle/11600/52996

Introduction: Hepatitis C is a viral infection that affects the liver, representing a serious public health problem. Over the years, a reduction in the prevalence of infection has been observed worldwide, due to the deaths caused by complications of the disease, in people who have become infected in the past. The greatest challenge today is the identification of infected individuals who are not yet evaluated for treatment. As the highest prevalence rate is observed in people of more advanced age, the search should be done primarily in this population. In addition to the age group as a criterion, the place of the search may also be useful as an identification strategy. Objective: To identify the prevalence of HCV infection in patients over 45 years old in the emergency room and outpatient clinics of a tertiary hospital and to evaluate the sociodemographic, clinical and laboratory characteristics of the patients evaluated. Method: This was a crosssectional, descriptive and analytical study of individuals of both genders, aged ≥45 years. The research was developed at the emergency unit and outpatient clinics at Hospital São Paulo, SP, Brazil. After compliance with the eligibility criteria and formal consent, the patients responded to a structured interview (sociodemographic and clinical questions) and were submitted to the rapid test for antiHCV (SD BIOLINE®, Alere, China). Results: 606 people of both genders (62% female and 37% male) participated in the study. The mean age was 62 years. Regarding the previous diagnostic test for HCV, 65% reported never having performed it and 18% did so at some point in their life. Four positive tests with serological confirmation (antiHCV and HCVRNA) were identified. Thus, the observed prevalence was 0.66%. All patients had identifiable risk factors: injecting drug use, sexual intercourse with antiHCV positive partner, and blood transfusion. Conclusion: Although the study has been developed in a hospital service of high complexity and in a specific age group, a low prevalence of hepatitis C was observed in the studied population. This result is in line with other studies, which have revealed a lower prevalence of hepatitis C in Brazil, in relation to that previously verified. These results must be taken into account for the adequacy of public policies to combat the disease.