FREQUENCY AND RISK FACTORS OF HEPATITIS B AND C VIRUS INFECTIONS IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING CATARACT SURGERY

Background: hepatitis b virus and hepatitis c virus infections are major health problems all over the world. the objective of this study was to determine the frequency and identify risk factors of hbv and hcv in patients undergoing cataract surgery. material & methods: this descriptive study was conducted in the department of ophthalmology, district head quarter teaching hospital, gomal medical college, d.i. khan, pakistan, from january 2010 to june 2012. a sample of 330 patients was selected using purposive non-probability sampling technique. screening for hbv and hcv was done with ict method. all positive patients were confirmed by elisa test. descriptive statistics were applied as number (frequency) and percentage. results: the mean age of the sample was 63.7 with sd 5.83 (45-80) years. out of 330 patients, 165 (50%) were males and 165 (50%) females. thirteen patients (3.93%) were hbv positive and 32 (9.69%) were hcv positive. out of 13 hbv positive cases, 8 (61.64%) were males and 5 (38.36%) were females. out of 32 hcv positive patients, 19 (59.37%) were males and 13 (40.63%) were females. conclusion: hepatitis b virus and hepatitis c virus infections are common infections in our setup. hcv is more prevalent than hbv. all patients booked for any type of surgery must be screened for hbv & hcv. public awareness programs regarding risk factors for these diseases should be carried out through print and electronic media