DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2015.v03i02.083

Pages: 953-956

This study is conducted to determine the prevalence of hepatitis B and hepatitis C virus infection in Abbottabad and to see the pattern of liver function tests in hepatitis positive patients. It was conducted at Department of Pathology, Frontier Medical & Dental College, Abbottabad, Pakistan, from June 2014 to December 2014. All the patients referred for hepatitis screening were included in the study based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Liver function tests were performed using automatic chemistry analyzer while hepatitis B surface antigen and anti-HCV antibodies were checked using rapid diagnostic kits. 105 patients were included in the study with male to female ratio of 1.18:1. Out of 105 cases, there were 15 (14.28%) patients who were positive for hepatitis and all 15 were positive for anti-HCV antibodies with 6 (40%) males and 9 (60%) females, showing high predilection for female gender. Majority of patients, about 57 (54.12%), were in the age range of 21-40 years, followed by 19 (18.09%) patients in the age group of 40-50 years. The mean age of hepatitis positive patients was 33.33±13.37 years. Regarding liver function tests, the alanine transaminase levels (ALT) were 77.9 and 132 U/L in hepatitis negative and hepatitis positive patients respectively. Enzyme levels were 1.65 times higher in hepatitis positive patients than hepatitis negative patients. Rest of the parameters were within normal limits. Hepatitis B and C are common cause of liver dysfunction in our country. Hepatitis C infection is more prevalent than Hepatitis B. Hepatitis infection can lead to raised ALT levels even when other parameters of liver function tests are within normal limits. Therefore, all patients who have raised ALT levels must undergo hepatitis screening.