Prevalence of blood born viral infections among glaucoma patients in south-east, Nigeria

Background: The hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are blood-borne viral infections. They can predispose to occupational related infections in health care settings, including ophthalmology practice. 

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of and risk factors associated with HBV, HCV, and HIV among glaucoma patients. 

Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted in a private specialist eye hospital on glaucoma patients managed between 1st August, 2020 and 31st July, 2021. A total of 594 patients met inclusion criteria of primary diagnoses of glaucoma. All blood samples were tested for HBsAg, anti-HCV, and anti-HIV. The data was collected, entered and analyzed using STATA version 17.0 (College Station, TX: StataCorp LLC). The descriptive statistics were determined by means of percentages. Chi-square was used for trend analysis and p-value was used to declare the statistical significance between the variables. 

Results: The overall prevalence of HBV, HCV and HIV was 2.41% (15/622, 95%CI=1.35-3.98), 1.45% (9/622, 95%CI=0.66-2.75) and 3.22 (20/622, 95%CI=1.96-4.97) respectively. The prevalence of HBV was significantly higher in males compared to female counterparts. The prevalence of HBV was not influenced by age while the prevalence of HCV and HIV were not influenced by gender nor age. 

Conclusion: The prevalence of HBV, HCV, and HIV are high among glaucoma patients in south-east Nigeria. These findings have implications for practice on the need to strengthen the health care education and practice of universal safety precautions in ophthalmology practice.