Chronic hepatitis C infection: how much are physicians aware of?

Aim
The purpose of our study is to measure the awareness of hepatitis C among physicians employed in Istanbul, and investigate the relationship between awareness and the specialization field, age and presence of chronic hepatitis/positive family history.

Material and methods
Level of awareness of 125 family physicians and 76 internal medicine physicians, employed within Istanbul Province, on hepatitis C infection were evaluated using standard questionnaire. Relationship between their awareness and age, specialization, presence of any chronic hepatitis and chronic hepatitis C in any relatives were investigated.

Results
The mean age of the physicians was 30.9 ±7.1 years (range: 23–45 years) and 58% of them were women. Seventy-five (37.3%) physicians were between ages of 23–28, 67 (33.3%) physicians were between ages of 29–32, and 59 (29.4%) physicians ages was greater than 32. Twenty-one (10.4%) physicians had hepatitis or a first-or second-degree relative with hepatitis. Physicians were found to be insufficient in answering the questions on hepatitis C virus transmission routes and who should be screened. When examined based on transmission routes, there were no significant differences between physicians’ specializations and positive familial history, but physicians aged 23–28 had significantly poorer awareness at some points. Internal medicine specialists had better awareness on screening tests compared to family physicians but there were no significant differences between positive familial history and physicians’ age.

Conclusions
Physicians’ awareness should be improved to prevent hepatitis C virus transmission and to identify existing conditions.