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Dr Safa Imad Ahmad, Dr Ayesha Mubeen, Dr Summaya Zaitoon
Objective: To find out the effect of HCV on the mortality rate of maintenance hemodialysis patients. Material and Methods: A national database of 1364 CRF patients who underwent HCV antibody serology testing at least once per month during an interval of (October 2016 through November 2019) was analyzed. Measurements included third-generation HCV enzyme immunoassay and routine laboratory measurements. Results: In proportional hazards regressions, the mortality hazard ratio that was associated with HCV infection was 1.25 (95% confidence interval 1.12 to 1.39; P < 0.001). Mortality hazards were higher among incident (dialysis duration <6 mo) than prevalent HD patients. Subgroup analyzed indicated that HCV was associated with higher all-cause and cardiovascular mortality across almost all clinical, demographic, and laboratory groups of patients. Conclusion: Regardless of its wide range of prevalence variation among various countries the associations between HCV infection and increased death risk in dialysis patients seem consistent. Keywords: Hemodialysis, HCV, Mortality