TY - JOUR
T1 - Hepatitis C virus infection in institutionalized psychiatric patients
T2 - Possible role of transmission by razor sharing
AU - Sawayama, Yasunori
AU - Hayashi, Jun
AU - Kakuda, Kyoji
AU - Furusyo, Norihiro
AU - Ariyama, Iwao
AU - Kawakami, Yasunobu
AU - Kinukawa, Naoko
AU - Kashiwagi, Seizaburo
PY - 2000
Y1 - 2000
N2 - The objective of this study was to determine if HCV can be transmitted from patient to patient in psychiatric institutions and to determine possible routes of infection. We did a cross-sectional survey of 196 Japanese psychiatric patients tested for HCV and HBV markers and 400 age- and sex- matched controls. Anti-HCV was detected in 10.2% and antibody to hepatitis B core antigen was detected in 44.4% of the patients, a significantly higher prevalence than found among matched controls. A multiple regression logistic analysis was used to identify risk factors that could indicate the route of infection by HCV. Duration of hospitalization, age, razor sharing, and history of surgery proved to be statistically significant independent risk factors associated with positive anti-HCV results [odds ratio (OR), 4.00; 95% confidence interval (CI), CI, 1.74-9.19; OR, 2.19; 95% CI, 1.27-1.3.77; OR, 4.90; 95% CI, 1.29-18.86; OR, 3.35; 95% CI, 0.997-11.3, respectively]. These observations suggest that razor sharing played an important role in the spread of the HCV infection in the institutionalized psychiatric patients we studied.
AB - The objective of this study was to determine if HCV can be transmitted from patient to patient in psychiatric institutions and to determine possible routes of infection. We did a cross-sectional survey of 196 Japanese psychiatric patients tested for HCV and HBV markers and 400 age- and sex- matched controls. Anti-HCV was detected in 10.2% and antibody to hepatitis B core antigen was detected in 44.4% of the patients, a significantly higher prevalence than found among matched controls. A multiple regression logistic analysis was used to identify risk factors that could indicate the route of infection by HCV. Duration of hospitalization, age, razor sharing, and history of surgery proved to be statistically significant independent risk factors associated with positive anti-HCV results [odds ratio (OR), 4.00; 95% confidence interval (CI), CI, 1.74-9.19; OR, 2.19; 95% CI, 1.27-1.3.77; OR, 4.90; 95% CI, 1.29-18.86; OR, 3.35; 95% CI, 0.997-11.3, respectively]. These observations suggest that razor sharing played an important role in the spread of the HCV infection in the institutionalized psychiatric patients we studied.
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U2 - 10.1023/A:1005472812403
DO - 10.1023/A:1005472812403
M3 - Article
C2 - 10711450
AN - SCOPUS:0034104213
SN - 0163-2116
VL - 45
SP - 351
EP - 356
JO - Digestive Diseases and Sciences
JF - Digestive Diseases and Sciences
IS - 2
ER -
