Screening for hepatitis B and C in a surgical ward

Objective: to find out the seroprevelence of hbsag and anti-hcv and evaluation of the risk factors design: prospective descriptive study setting: west surgical ward,mayo hospital,lahore duration: 1st jan 2011 to 31st dec 2011 patients: patients of either sex more than 13 years of age undergoing elective surgery methodology: screening for hbsag and antihcv was done in all the patients with enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (elisa) in the preoperative period. the information was recorded on a pre designed proforma which included the current and previous hepatitis profile,risk factors,history of vaccination along with the demographic data. results: a total number of 1185 patients underwent elective surgery during the study period. there were a total of 580 (48.9%) males and 605 (51.1%) females. 35 patients (2.9%) were found to be hbsag positive,170 patients (14.3%) were found to be anti hcv positive while none were found to be both hbsag and antihcv positive. conclusion: the number of patients suffering from hepatitis b and c is very high. screening for hbsag and antihcv should be a mandatory investigation in all the patients undergoing surgery.