The Prevalence of HCV RNA Positivity in Anti-HCV Antibodies-Negative Hemodialysis Patients in Thrace Region. Multicentral Study

Konstantinidou, Eleni I.; Kontekaki, Eftychia G.; Kefas, Aristidis; Konstantinidis, Theocharis; Romanidou, Gioulia; Fotiadou, Eleni; Rekari, Viki; Triantafyllidou, Eleni; Zisaki, Stavroula; Kasmeridou, Evi; Andreadou, Mariana; Kantartzi, Konstantina; Mavromatidis, Konstantinos; Martinis, George; Cassimos, Dimitrios; Thodis, Elias; Panopoulou, Maria; Mimidis, Konstantinos

doi:10.18683/germs.2021.1240

Open AccessArticle

The Prevalence of HCV RNA Positivity in Anti-HCV Antibodies-Negative Hemodialysis Patients in Thrace Region. Multicentral Study

by

Eleni I. Konstantinidou

^1,†,

Eftychia G. Kontekaki

^1,2,†,

Aristidis Kefas

^1,†,

Theocharis Konstantinidis

^2,3,*,

Gioulia Romanidou

⁴,

Eleni Fotiadou

³,

Viki Rekari

^5,6,

Eleni Triantafyllidou

⁶,

Stavroula Zisaki

²,

Evi Kasmeridou

⁴,

Mariana Andreadou

⁴,

Konstantina Kantartzi

⁷,

Konstantinos Mavromatidis

⁴,

George Martinis

²,

Dimitrios Cassimos

⁸,

Elias Thodis

⁷,

Maria Panopoulou

³ and

Konstantinos Mimidis

⁹

¹

“Infectious Diseases—International Medicine: From Bench to Bedside”, Democritus University of Thrace, Dragana Campus, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece

²

Blood Transfusion Center, University General Hospital of Alexandroupolis Dragana Campus, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece

³

Laboratory of Microbiology, Democritus University of Thrace, University General Hospital of Alexandroupolis Dragana Campus, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece

⁴

General Hospital “Sismanoglio”, Sismanoglou 45, 69133 Komotini, Greece

⁵

General Hospital of Xanthi, Neapoli, 67100 Xanthi, Greece

⁶

General Hospital of Didimoticho, 25thMay, 141, 683 00 Didimoticho, Greece

⁷

Department of Nephrology, Democritus University of Thrace, University General Hospital of Alexandroupolis Dragana Campus, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece

⁸

Democritus University of Thrace, Pediatric Department, Alexandroupolis, Greece

⁹

First Department of Internal Medicine, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupolis, Greece

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

GERMS 2021, 11(1), 52-58; https://doi.org/10.18683/germs.2021.1240

Submission received: 6 August 2020 / Revised: 7 January 2021 / Accepted: 12 January 2021 / Published: 15 March 2021

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Abstract

Introduction: HCV infection in patients under hemodialysis for end stage chronic kidney disease (ESCKD) may exist despite the absence of anti-HCV antibodies. Molecular methods are widely accepted as “gold standard” techniques for the detection of viral RNA. However, the molecular methods are more expensive in comparison to conventional methods and their replacement is not cost-effective. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of HCV RNA positivity in anti-HCV negative hemodialysis patients and evaluate new diagnostic methods for the detection and the monitoring of hepatitis C in ESCKD patients. Methods: The study was performed in four hospitals of Thrace region of Greece and 233 patients with no history of hepatitis C were enrolled. Measurement of anti-HCV antibodies and HCV core antigen was performed by microparticle chemiluminescence immunoassay. Molecular detection of viral RNA was performed by the real-time RT PCR. Results: The mean age of the patients was 64.9 ± 23.3 years. HCV-Ag was positive in 2/233 patients (0.86%). Nevertheless, viral RNA was negative in those patients. Conclusions: The results of the present study showed that the incidence of HCV-RNA in patients with negative anti-HCV Abs, in hemodialysis patients in Thrace region of Greece was negligible (0/233).

Keywords: HCV; Hemodialysis; HCV RNA

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MDPI and ACS Style

Konstantinidou, E.I.; Kontekaki, E.G.; Kefas, A.; Konstantinidis, T.; Romanidou, G.; Fotiadou, E.; Rekari, V.; Triantafyllidou, E.; Zisaki, S.; Kasmeridou, E.; et al. The Prevalence of HCV RNA Positivity in Anti-HCV Antibodies-Negative Hemodialysis Patients in Thrace Region. Multicentral Study. GERMS 2021, 11, 52-58. https://doi.org/10.18683/germs.2021.1240

AMA Style

Konstantinidou EI, Kontekaki EG, Kefas A, Konstantinidis T, Romanidou G, Fotiadou E, Rekari V, Triantafyllidou E, Zisaki S, Kasmeridou E, et al. The Prevalence of HCV RNA Positivity in Anti-HCV Antibodies-Negative Hemodialysis Patients in Thrace Region. Multicentral Study. GERMS. 2021; 11(1):52-58. https://doi.org/10.18683/germs.2021.1240

Chicago/Turabian Style

Konstantinidou, Eleni I., Eftychia G. Kontekaki, Aristidis Kefas, Theocharis Konstantinidis, Gioulia Romanidou, Eleni Fotiadou, Viki Rekari, Eleni Triantafyllidou, Stavroula Zisaki, Evi Kasmeridou, and et al. 2021. "The Prevalence of HCV RNA Positivity in Anti-HCV Antibodies-Negative Hemodialysis Patients in Thrace Region. Multicentral Study" GERMS 11, no. 1: 52-58. https://doi.org/10.18683/germs.2021.1240

APA Style

Konstantinidou, E. I., Kontekaki, E. G., Kefas, A., Konstantinidis, T., Romanidou, G., Fotiadou, E., Rekari, V., Triantafyllidou, E., Zisaki, S., Kasmeridou, E., Andreadou, M., Kantartzi, K., Mavromatidis, K., Martinis, G., Cassimos, D., Thodis, E., Panopoulou, M., & Mimidis, K. (2021). The Prevalence of HCV RNA Positivity in Anti-HCV Antibodies-Negative Hemodialysis Patients in Thrace Region. Multicentral Study. GERMS, 11(1), 52-58. https://doi.org/10.18683/germs.2021.1240

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The Prevalence of HCV RNA Positivity in Anti-HCV Antibodies-Negative Hemodialysis Patients in Thrace Region. Multicentral Study

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