Can we afford to operate on patients without HB sag screening?

ABSTRACT

In this prospective study, out of 100 patients screened for hepatitis B surface antigen [HBsAg] 28 were found positive in a surgical unit of the Rawalpindi Medical College. Of these, 3 [10.71%] patients had a past history of jaundice, 10 [35.71%] of blood transfusion and 9 [32.14%] of previous operations, whereas 15 [53.57%] patients did not give any history of blood transfusion, operation or jaundice. In our hospitals with a history of jaundice are screened for HBsAg and precautions are taken against positive cases; hence 25 seropositive patients in our series would have been operated upon unknowingly. Thus, history alone cannot be relied upon for HBsAg screening. With the enormous pool of asymptomatic hepatitis B virus [HBV] carriers in our population, screening for HBsAg before surgery should be mandatory to reduce at least one important mode of dissemination of HBV infection