Investigation of HBsAg, Anti-HIV, and Anti-HCV Seropositivity in Patients Visiting the Orthopedic Clinic

Summary

This retrospective study analyzed HBsAg, anti-HCV, and anti-HIV seropositivity in 6607 orthopedic patients at Dicle University (2021-2025) with seropositivity rates at 2.75%, 0.27%, and 0.09%, respectively. HBsAg positivity was higher in males and older patients. Regional sero-epidemiological data are important for infection control and healthcare worker protection in surgical settings.

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the seropositivity of HBsAg, anti-HCV, and anti-HIV among patients admitted to the orthopedics clinic of a medical school hospital, to analyze the relationship between seropositivity and demographic variables such as age and gender, and to evaluate preoperative infection screening strategies based on the findings. This retrospective, descriptive, and cross-sectional study included patients admitted to the orthopedics clinic between January 1, 2021, and June 30, 2025, who had at least one of the HBsAg, Anti-HCV, or Anti-HIV tests performed. Test results were obtained from the Laboratory Information Management System (LIS), and demographic data were obtained from the Hospital Information System (HIS). Chi-square and Student,s t-test were used for statistical analysis. HBsAg was tested in 6607 patients, anti-HCV in 5588, and anti-HIV in 4658. The seropositivity rates were 2.75% for HBsAg, 0.27% for Anti-HCV, and 0.09% for Anti-HIV. HBsAg positivity was significantly higher in males (p < 0.05). The mean age of HBsAg and anti-HCV-positive patients was significantly higher than that of negative patients (p < 0.001). Anti-HIV positivity rate was low, and all confirmatory tests were negative. Regional sero-epidemiological data are crucial for assessing infection risks in surgical clinics and for developing strategies to protect healthcare workers. Risk-based infection screening is supported in low-prevalence regions, and ongoing preoperative screening is advised in high-prevalence areas.

Introduction

The Hepatitis B virus (HBV), Hepatitis C virus (HCV), and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) are viruses that cause significant public health problems worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2024 report, approximately 254 million people worldwide live with HBV, 50 million with HCV, and 39 million with HIV infection¹. HBV causes acute, chronic, or fulminant hepatitis, while HCV causes chronic hepatitis. Chronic infections associated with HBV and HCV can lead to fatal diseases such as cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. HIV is the causative etiologic agent of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The diseases caused b....

Protocol

The data were extracted from the HIS and LIS and used in accordance with the approval of the local ethics committee (Mardin Artuklu University Non-Interventional Clinical Research Ethics Committee; Decision No: E-76272411-050.04-206739). The research was conducted in strict accordance with the Helsinki Declaration and national data protection laws.

Study design and sample selection

Design the study as a retrospective, descriptive, and cross-sectional analysis to investigate HBsAg, Anti-HCV, and Anti-HIV seropositivity. Define the study period and population. Thi....

Results

Synthesis of findings and linkage to study objectives

This study was designed to test the hypothesis that regional seropositivity data are essential for evaluating the necessity of routine preoperative screening and for developing effective infection control strategies. The findings show that HBsAg seropositivity in orthopedic patients is higher than anti-HCV and anti-HIV seropositivity. Between January 1, 2021, and June 30, 2025, the screening of 6,607 patients revealed a mod.......

Discussion

The current study proposes a transition from routine preoperative screening to a risk-based screening strategy, specifically tailored to regional epidemiological data, to optimize resource allocation while maintaining healthcare worker safety. This work contributes to the scientific field by providing a policy-guiding epidemiological framework that demonstrates how hospital-specific data can refine national health policies.

While the study provides a large-scale overview, several limitations m.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Anti-HCV Kit (Elecsys Anti-HCV II)	Roche Diagnostics	6368697190
Anti-HIV Kit (Elecsys HIV Combi PT)	Roche Diagnostics	5390095190
Blood Collection Tubes (BD Vacutainer SST)	Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD)	367953
Cobas e601 Immunoassay Analyzer	Roche Diagnostics	N/A (Instrument)
HBsAg Kit (Elecsys HBsAg II)	Roche Diagnostics	11820524122
IBM SPSS Statistics v26.0	IBM Corp.	N/A (Software)
Microsoft Excel	Microsoft Corp.	N/A (Software)