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Clinical and epidemiological features of hepatitis C virus infection in South Korea: A prospective, multicenter cohort study
Author(s) -
Seong Mun Hyuk,
Kil Ho,
Kim Young Seok,
Bae Si Hyun,
Lee Youn Jae,
Lee Han Chu,
Kang Byung Hak,
Jeong SookHyang
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of medical virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9071
pISSN - 0146-6615
DOI - 10.1002/jmv.23661
Subject(s) - medicine , epidemiology , hepatitis c virus , hepatitis c , hepatocellular carcinoma , prospective cohort study , cohort , blood transfusion , cirrhosis , cohort study , surgery , immunology , virus
The epidemiological and clinical features of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in South Korea were examined in a prospective, multicenter cohort study that included 1,173 adult patients with positive results for anti‐HCV antibody who completed a questionnaire survey on the risk factors for HCV infection from January 2007 to December 2011 at five university hospitals. The HCV cohort had a mean age of 55.4 years with 48.3% men, and diagnostic categories of acute hepatitis (n = 63, 5.3%), past infection (n = 37, 3.2%), chronic hepatitis (n = 777, 66.2%), cirrhosis of the liver (n = 179, 15.3%), and hepatocellular carcinoma (n = 117, 10.0%). The major HCV genotypes were genotype 1 (52.7%) and genotype 2 (45.3%). Liver biopsy was performed in 301 patients (25.7%), and 42.8% of the subjects received antiviral therapy against HCV. The behavioral risk factors possibly related to HCV infection were intravenous drug use (5%), needle stick injury (7%), blood transfusion before 1995 (19%), sexual relationship with more than three partners (28%), piercings (35%), tattoos (36%), surgery (43%), acupuncture (83%), diagnostic endoscopy (85%), and dental procedures (93%). Age, intravenous drug use, needle stick injury, transfusion before 1995, and tattoos were the independent risk factors of HCV infection. J Med. Virol. 85:1724–1733, 2013 . © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.