Prevalence and associations of hepatitis C viremia in hemodialysis patients at a tertiary care hospital.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in hemodialysis (HD) is a significant problem. We evaluated the prevalence and associations of HCV viremia in our HD patients. All patients undergoing maintenance HD at our center were tested for HCV RNA by PCR after written informed consent. Detailed history regarding age, sex, and duration of dialysis, frequency of dialysis, blood transfusions in one year, number of dialysis centers, dialyzer reuse/fresh use, and recent laboratory data was recorded. A total of 119 patients (77 males and 42 females) were tested for HCV RNA. Thirty three (27.7%) tested positive. Duration of dialysis was significantly longer in HCV RNA positive group (P = 0.001). 45.2% of patients with duration of dialysis more than 16 months were HCV RNA positive while only 7.4% of patients with dialysis duration