Rohtak: Screening tests help detect hepatitis in patients

Tribune News Service

Ravinder Saini

Rohtak, April 14

A recent report of the World Health Organisation (WHO) about a significant rise in the deaths due to viral hepatitis in India in the past some years has rung alarm bells. The analysis of such patients enrolled at the PGIMS, Rohtak, reveals that more than 80 per cent of them come to know about their condition during the screening test either before undergoing a surgery or after donating blood.

30% detected from blood donation camps

Talking about the analysis of such patients enrolled at the PGIMS, Rohtak, Dr Dr Parveen Malhotra, head, DMG and MTC, pointed out that 35 per cent patients at the MTC had been referred from pre-anesthetic checkup before surgery, 30 per cent from blood donation camps, 15 per cent from thalassemia, HIV clinic and dialysis centre, antenatal clinic while remaining 20 per cent were the patients of chronic liver diseases, he added.

Women patients, a majority of whom were pregnant, found themselves suffering from the ailment at that time when they went to antenatal clinic for their checkup.

The department of medical gastroenterology (DMG) at PGIMS-Rohtak was a model treatment centre (MTC) of Haryana under the National Viral Hepatitis Control Programme (NVHCP) formed by the state government to curtail the spread of the disease for which Jeevan Rekha project was also being executed to provide free treatment to the patients, said Dr Parveen Malhotra, head, DMG and MTC.

“So far, 25,000 patients of hepatitis C and 10,000 patients of hepatitis B have been enrolled and treated at the MTC while nearly 37,000 endoscopies and 38,000 fibroscan have been done free of cost for needy patients. The patients belong to various parts of Haryana and neighbouring Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan,” he added.

Talking about the analysis, Dr Malhotra pointed out that 35 per cent patients at the MTC had been referred from pre-anesthetic checkup before surgery, 30 per cent from blood donation camps, 15 per cent from thalassemia, HIV clinic and dialysis centre, antenatal clinic while remaining 20 per cent were the patients of chronic liver diseases, he added.

“The vertical transmission from hepatitis B pregnant mother to a newborn has been prevented in 99.95 per cent of the total cases by timely and indicated the use of antiviral drugs in pregnant mothers, and mandatory hepatitis B immunoglobulin and vaccination to the newborn. Free hepatitis B vaccination of health care workers (HCW), including doctors, nurses, lab and OT technicians and for high-risk groups had already started at the PGIMS-Rohtak .

He said following the directives of the state and Central Government, high-risk group persons were being screened for hepatitis B and C for early detection, thus data of patients on treatment was increasing every year. The hepatitis B and C clinic worked on a daily basis at the MTC. This was all due to the conjoined effort of the government, healthcare workers and general public at large, he added.

Dr Malhotra said district hospitals and medical colleges were the nodal centres where free investigations and treatment were provided for hepatitis B and C to the patients from all over India. The MTC ran a clinic on a daily basis where 20 new patients of hepatitis B and C were enrolled and 80 old patients came for follow up, which made it one of the high-flow centres across the country.

Talking about the age group of the patients, he said the majority of the patients were male and they belonged to the age group of 30-50. The disease was curable if treatment was started timely, hence, awareness of the disease was one of the crucial factors to check the fatalities. Moreover, doctors and healthcare workers also needed to be trained to detect the disease early, he added.

“We have already started an online training of viral hepatitis of doctors from all over Haryana by the Extension of Health Care Outcome (ECHO model) and shortly it will be extended to other healthcare workers, followed by an awareness drive among the masses. The move aims at training doctors and healthcare workers even at peripheral hospitals for timely detection and treatment of viral hepatitis, Nonalcoholic fatty liver etc and to break various kinds of myths in society,” said Dr Malhotra.

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