Patients undergoing fertility treaments should be tested for hepatitis C virus

Patients undergoing fertility treaments should be tested for hepatitis C virus

(Assisted Reproduction-2002-2003)

Doing so may reduce the risk for occupational exposure or vertical transmission, or even the contamination of other embryos, according to E. Pandolfi Passos and colleagues, investigators in the Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Pediatrics at the Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre in Brazil.

"In assisted reproduction, HCV transmission may pose a risk for the baby, technicians, and gametes or embryos from noncontaminated parents," explained Passos and coauthors in the August 2002 issue of Human Reproduction.

From 1997 until 1998, the investigators screened for HCV and hepatitis B virus (HBV) in 409 patients undergoing treatment for infertility in a Brazilian hospital.

"The overall prevalence of anti-HCV was 3.2% (8/248) among women and 3.7% (6/161) among men," they reported. None of the individuals were positive for either HBV or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Two of the HCV-positive patients were eventually lost from the data set, leaving 12 people for additional testing. Of those 12 patients, 5 of them, including 1 woman and 4 men, were positive for HCV-RNA, signaling active infection (Hepatitis C virus infection and assisted reproduction. Human Reprod, August 2002;17(8):2085-2088).

Among the females who were HCV-positive based on antibody screening, having a male partner who was HCV-positive was the main risk factor for infection, whereas among men who were HCV-positive, using intravenous drugs was the main risk factor for infection.

"Since the risk for vertical and laboratory HCV infection is not well determined, and HCV prevalence is not negligible in this group, we recommend that infertile patients be screened before assisted reproductive techniques," Passos and colleagues urged.

The corresponding author for this study is E. Pandolfi Passos, Setor de Reproduciao Humano, Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre, Ramiro Barcelos 2350 Sala 1125, 90035-003, Porto Alegre, Brazil. E-mail: epp@via-rs.net.

Key points reported in this study include:

* Approximately 3% of patients who underwent assisted reproduction techniques at a Brazilian hospital were carrying antibodies to HCV

* Several more of those patients carried HCV RNA, signaling the presence of replicating virus

* Patients who undergo assisted reproduction techniques should be screened beforehand for HCV infection This article was prepared by Women's Health Weekly editors from staff and other reports.