Current management practices for HBs antigen or anti-HCV antibody positive individuals in non-hepatology departments at a university hospital

Little is known about the current medical management practices relating to hepatitis virus carriers in nonhepatology departments. The aim of this study was to clarify the existing management of viral hepatitis in nonhepatology departments at a university hospital. Subjects who underwent screening tests for HBsAg (n=6,648) and anti-HCV (n=6,612) at 27 non-hepatology departments between January 2010 and December 2010 were analyzed. The number of HBsAg-positive (HBV carrier), probable chronic hepatitis B, anti-HCV-positive, probable HCV carrier, and probable chronic hepatitis C were 126 (1.9%), 66 (1.0%), 487 (7.4%), 369 (5.6%), and 244 (3.7%), respectively. In spite of high infection rates, 79% of HBV carriers and 82% of probable HCV carriers were not referred to a hepatologist. In 89% of the former and 97% of the latter, a medical plan for viral hepatitis was not described in the electronic medical record. A system to manage hepatitis virus carriers should be established immediately in medical institutions that have hepatologists.