Prevalence of Hepatitis C Virus Infection and Efficacy of Sofosbuvir-Velpatasvir and Sofosbuvir-Daclatasvir Treatment Regimens in End-stage Renal Disease Patients on Maintenance Hemodialysis.

Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are at an increased risk of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. This study evaluated the prevalence of HCV infection in patients with ESRD on maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) and studied the effectiveness of sofosbuvir-velpatasvir and sofosbuvir-daclatasvir regimens in these patients. This study included patients with ESRD on MHD between January 2019 and December 2021 who were screened for HCV serology status. HCV-positive patients received sofosbuvir-velpatasvir or sofosbuvir-daclatasvir. Efficacy was assessed by the sustained virological response (SVR), and safety assessments included monitoring adverse events and laboratory parameters. Out of 1330 patients, 188 patients (14.1%) were positive for anti-HCV, with Genotype 1 being the most common genotype. Of these, 106 patients were included. The majority were males (61.3%), and the mean age was 48.4 years. Hypertension (45.3%) was the most common cause of renal failure, followed by diabetes (31.1%). Most patients (63.2%) were positive for HCV in the first 2 years of their dialysis treatment. Out of 106 patients, only 54 had received blood transfusions. Ninety-four (88.7%) patients received sofosbuvir-velpatasvir, whereas 12 (11.3%) received sofosbuvir-daclatasvir. SVR at 12 and 24 weeks after stopping treatment was seen in all (100%) patients. Asthenia and fatigue were the most common adverse events (11.2%). No patients reported on-treatment virologic failure or discontinuation of treatment because of adverse events. The prevalence of HCV infection in this population was 14.1%, and treatment of HCV infection using sofosbuvir-velpatasvir or sofosbuvir-daclatasvir regimens was well tolerated and effective.

Prevalence of dyslipidemia in school children of Kashmir valley.

AIM: Increased incidence of CVD has been observed in recent years in the Kashmir valley (North India). Since the risk factor development of the cardiovascular diseases (CVD) takes place during childhood, we undertook an epidemiological survey to assess the prevalence of dyslipidemia in the school children of Kashmir valley. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 1131 children of 5-19 years of age were selected and evaluated for BMI, cholesterol, TGs, LDL and HDL levels from different areas of Srinagar city (urban) region of the Kashmir valley from June 2011-June 2014. RESULTS: The frequency of dyslipidemia in Kashmiri children varied along the subjects. Hypertriglyceridemia was seen in 82.6% of the males and 47.6% of females in the age group of 5-9 years, 38.5% of males and 51.1% of females in the age group of 10-14 years and 24.7% of males and 35.9% of the females in the age group of 15-19 years. Low levels of HDL than normal were seen in 34.7% of males and 19% of females in the age group of 5-9 years. Similarly low HDL levels were seen in 17.9% of males and 15.5% of females in the age group of 10-14 years. The incidence of low HDL was also seen in 4.9% of males and 10.8% of females in the age group of 15-19 years. CONCLUSIONS: In the present study dyslipidemia was more common in centrally obese children and the most common component was high triglycerides and low HDL's. Female school children were at higher risk of developing CVD than males.