ABSTRACT
Introduction: The mainstay of therapy for patients sufferingfrom beta thalassemia major is regular blood transfusionand chelation therapy due to constraints in bone marrowtransplantation. The present study was conducted to estimatethe prevalence of transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs)in multitransfused patients of thalassemia major and todetermine the association with relation to the number of bloodtransfusions received.Material and Methods: This study was conducted inDepartment of Microbiology on 126 β- thalassemiamajor patients registered for regular blood transfusions atThalassemia Day Care Centre attached to Department ofPediatrics, Government Medical College, Amritsar, Punjabfrom January to July 2018. The patient’s serum sampleswere screened for TTIs i.e. Human Immunodeficiency Virus(HIV), Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and Hepatitis C virus (HCV).Seropositivity screening for HBV and HCV was done by rapidImmunochromatographic test and confirmed by enzymelinked immunosorbent assays. (ELISA) while for HIV as perNACO guidelines.Results: Out of 126 patients, 14.28% (18/126) were seroreactive for TTIs. Of these sero-reactive patients, 13.4%(17/126) were positive for anti-HCV antibody, 0.79% (1/126)positive for HBsAg and none (0) for anti HIV antibody. Ofthe anti-HCV reactive cases, 70.5% (12 out of 17) were>12years of age, 58.8% (10 out of 17) had received morethan 250 transfusions, and 23.5% (4 out of 17) had receivedtransfusions between 100 to 250. Anti-HCV seroreactivitywas thus found to increase with the age and increase in thenumber of transfusions received.Conclusion: It is concluded that HCV is the most prevalentTTI in multi-transfused children with thalassemia major andstringent pre-transfusion screening of blood for anti-HCVmust be introduced in blood centers. HBV vaccination shouldalso be done before the start of transfusion regimen or as soonas possible after diagnosis of thalassemia.
ABSTRACT
Background:Although blood transfusion is a life saving therapy, it is associated with various ill effects, which can cause increased morbidity and mortality in recipients. Testing of all donated blood for transfusion transmitted infections (TTIs) such as HIV I & II, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and syphilis is one of the strategies recommended by WHO to ensure safe blood. However, if the donor is already having an infection, transmissible by blood, the transfusion will be rather hazardous for the recipient. The national blood policy of India 2002 advocates the disclosure of results of transfusion transmitted infections (TTIs) to blood donors. Aim:To assess the attitude of the transfusion transmitted infections (TTIs) reactive blood donor in response to the post-donation calls from blood bank. Material and methods: A total of 20865 blood donors came to the department of IHBT in period of one year from 1St November 2009 to 31St October 2010.All donated blood was screened against HIV I & II , Hepatitis B, hepatitis C and syphilis and malaria. On screening the units, it was found that 391 donation units (1.874 %) were positive for one of the TTIs, namely HIV I & II, HBsAg, HCV or syphilis. As follow-up, these donors were recalled at blood bank by a phone call. Results: out of 391 reactive donors only 236 responded to call (average response rate was 60.36%). Conclusion: The study suggest that authorities should frame some guidelines and rules that can increase the response rate among reactive donors and make them assessable because it enables their future investigation and treatment and the prevention of diseases transmission to the community.