Hepatitis C Seropositivity among Hospitalized Patients with Decompensated Chronic Liver Disease: An Observational Study in a Tertiary Care Hospital of Bangladesh.

Viral hepatitis due to hepatitis B virus and C virus (HCV) is a major contributor to the huge burden of chronic liver disease in Bangladesh. This study aimed to investigate the sero-prevalence of HCV among decompensated Chronic Liver Disease (CLD) patients admitted to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital (SOMCH), Bangladesh. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 58 admitted patients with SOMCH aged ≥18 years with a diagnosis of decompensated CLD. Detailed clinical data were extracted from the hospital records and physical examination. Here the immunochromatographic direct binding method was used for the detection of Anti-HCV antibody. The mean age ±SD of the patients was 45.7±13.3 years and 86.0% of them were male. Seropositivity of anti-HCV antibody was 17.2%, with a predominance of genotype-3. Around 58.0% patients had CLD class C in the Child-Pugh scoring system. Edema (91.0%), testicular atrophy (81.0%), leukonychia (72.0%), jaundice (58.0%), clubbing (58.0%), palmar erythema (50.0%), flapping tremor (43.0%) and ascites (40.0%) were the most common presentations of the patients. HCV infection contributed to almost one-fifth of decompensated CLD in hospital-admitted patients. Mass screening and adequate preventive measures are recommended to mitigate the burden of HCV-induced CLD.