TY - JOUR A2 - Quesenberry, Peter J. AU - Mousa, Somaia Mohammed PY - 2014 DA - 2014/04/10 TI - Hepatitis C among Egyptian Patients Referred for Bone Marrow Examination: Seroprevalence and Analysis of Hematological Findings SP - 549716 VL - 2014 AB - Hepatitis C is a significant public health problem in Egypt where the highest prevalence (14.7%) of hepatitis C virus (HCV) exists. HCV prevalence is even higher among clinical populations and groups at risk of exposure to infection. Chronic HCV infection is associated with several hematological complications that may necessitate bone marrow (BM) examination. The aim of this study is to estimate HCV prevalence among patients referred for BM examination and to explore hematological and BM findings among HCV positive patients. One hundred adult patients referred for BM examination were included in the study and screened for HCV antibodies. Patients’ clinical, hematological, and BM findings were recorded. The seroprevalence of HCV among patients referred for BM examination was 42%. The most common indication for BM examination among HCV positive patients was peripheral cytopenias (88.1%). The most common cytopenia detected was thrombocytopenia (85.7%). The most common diagnosis among HCV positive patients was hypersplenism (52.4%) followed by B-lymphoproliferative disorders (19%) and then immune thrombocytopenic purpura (11.9%). In conclusion, HCV prevalence among patients referred for BM examination is higher than that estimated in the general population. Patients with unexplained peripheral cytopenias should be tested for HCV. SN - 2090-2999 UR - https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/549716 DO - 10.1155/2014/549716 JF - Bone Marrow Research PB - Hindawi Publishing Corporation KW - ER -