Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is a multidimensional concept that reflects a patient's perceived well-being. It was well demonstrated that HCV had a negative impact on (HRQOL). The aim of this study was to assess HRQOL in hepatitis C Virus (HCV) seropositive hemodialysis Egyptian patients and highlight possible factors affecting it.Patients and methods: : 200 ESRD patients on regular hemodialysis at Ain Shams University hospitals and National Institute of Nephrology and Urology were included in this study and divided into 2 equal groups of HCV Ab seronegative and seropositive. Both groups were subjected to full medical history taking and examination. Laboratory investigations included hemoglobin level, pre dialysis blood urea, creatinine, calcium, phosphorus, PTH, ALT, AST, albumin and viral markers. Dialysis adequacy using Kt/v. HRQOL was measured through Short Form 36 (SF-36). In each dimension the respondent receives a score from 0 to 100. The higher the score, the better the health.Results: Our study showed that HCV seropositive hemodialysis patients had compromised HRQOL in comparison to HCV seronegative patients which was found in most of SF-36 subscales with higher scores for employed patients compared to the unemployed and those with higher haemoglobin levels. High pre dialysis serum creatinine, dry weight and serum albumin had significant positive correlation with SF-36 scale scores. Elevated liver enzymes and dialysis adequacy had no significant correlation with SF-36 scale scores. A significant negative correlation was present between serum phosphate and PTH on overall HRQOL.
Conclusion:HCV infection impairs HRQOL, in many aspects in hemodialysis patients. Better HRQOL is associated with male gender, younger age, employment, higher hemoglobin, higher pre dialysis serum creatinine and higher serum albumin. Prevention of HCV transmission by proper infection control measures reduces the economic burden and complications in hemodialysis.
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IntroductionHealth-related quality of life (HRQOL) is a multidimensional concept that reflects a patient's perceived well-being and functioning in physical, psychological and social domains of health [1]. End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is a chronic restrictive illness that affects many aspects of patient's life. Moreover, ESRD has become worldwide public health problem [2] causing a high level of disability in different domains of the patients' lives, leading to impaired quality of life (QoL) [3]. Although there have been many advances in the treatment of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), mortality rates for ESRD patients remain several times higher than those of age-matched controls, and patients with ESRD continue to have significant impairments in quality of life (QOL), quality of life is related with morbidity and mortality in hemodialysis patients, and it is suggested that QOL should be considered in the regular monitoring of dialysis patients [4]. Hemodialysis patients infected with HCV often have poor shortterm clinical outcome,...