evaluation of seroprevalence of hepatitis b virus and hepatitis c virus in reference center hospital in turkey's southeast anatolia among patients referred for major or minimally invasive surgery: last decade experience in a previously high prevalence area

Background: there is a high worldwide prevalence of chronic hepatitis b virus (hbv) and hepatitiscvirus (hcv) infections,among the significant causes of liver-related morbidity and mortality. objectives: we aimed to determine the prevalence of hbv and hcv in a referral center hospital in southeast anatolia among patients that applied for major or minimally invasive surgery. methods: in a tertiary referral state hospital for general purposes, patients undergoing surgical procedures and serologic examinations for hbv and hcv were included in the study between january 2011 and september 2020. results: in the general population, hepatitis b surface antigen (hbsag) and anti-hbs were examined in 220,724 patients, and anti- hcv was examined in 186,017 patients. the mean age was 42.320.2 years with a 51.8% male distribution. the frequency of positive hbsag and anti-hcv in all patients was 9.4 and 0.9%, respectively. on the other hand, the frequency of positive hbsag and anti-hcv was 4.2 and 0.7%, respectively, among patients admitted for a surgical procedure. the mean age was 46.121.1 years with a slightly male predominance (54 vs. 46%). in this group, the frequency of positive hbsag was higher in males (5.1%) while the lowest was in the 1 - 10 age range (0.4%) and the highest in the 41 - 50 age range (5.7%). between 2011 and 2019, the prevalence of hbsag positivity decreased from 6.4 to 4.0%, while anti-hcv positivity was similar in both genders, and its frequency increased with age. conclusions: between 2011 and 2020, the overall prevalence of hbv and hcv decreased in the southeast anatolia region of turkey.