Prevalence of Hepatitis B and C in the Patients Going for Ocular Surgery.

Abstract

Objective: To doccument the prevalence of hepatitis B and C in patients undergoing ocular surgery at an eye hospital
before surgery .
Methodology: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out at Al-Baseer Eye Hospital in Karachi. Participants of
both sexes aged between 18 and 75 years who were scheduled for cataract surgery under local anesthesia were included
in our study. After collection, the data was processed and analyzed using statistical methods via SPSS software version
26. To gain a deeper insight into the possible impact of various factors on the outcomes, stratification was conducted
for variables including age, gender, history of blood transfusion, prior surgeries, and family history of hepatitis
Results: A total of 134 patients participated in the study. The mean age of the participants was 55.28 ± 4.04 years, with
58% male and 42% female. The prevalence rates for Hepatitis C and B were 10.45% and 2.99%, respectively, while the
combined prevalence of both hepatitis B and C was 13.43%. A significant clinical correlation was identified between risk
factors such as family history of hepatitis, history of blood transfusions, and history of intravenous drug use with the outcomes
(p < 0.05).
Conclusion: The results indicate a notable presence of silent carriers of hepatitis B and C in patients set to undergo cataract
surgery. Therefore, it is highly recommended that all cataract patients be screened prior to surgery to reduce the
potential risk of disease transmission from undiagnosed carriers.

Key Words: Cataract surgery, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Frequency.