Review of the
Review
of the status of the HBsAg among the pregnant women attended primary health
care centers (PHCCs) in Medina, Saudi Arabia between 2008 and 2010.
Manal I. Hanafi Mahmoud(1),
Fawzeia Habib(2)
1Family and Community
Medicine Department- Medical College- Taibah University- SA, Community Medicine
Department- Faculty of Medicine- Alexandria University- Egypt
2Obstetric and Gynecology Department- Medical College-
Taibah University- SA
Abstract: Background: The high prevalence of hepatitis B antigens in
pregnant women is considered the most important factor contributing to the
higher carrier rate of HBsAg in some populations, including Saudi Arabia (SA).
Screening for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in pregnant women is a well
established and evidence based standard of current antenatal care practice. Objective: To
review of the status of the HBsAg among the pregnant women attended primary
health care centers (PHCCs) in Medina, Saudi Arabia between 2008 and 2010. Methods: A
cross sectional study was conducted using especially designed checklist. Review
of antenatal care records of the years 2008, 2009, 2010 of five randomly chosen
PHCCs; including 3060 pregnant women was done. Data was presented using mean,
standard deviation, and percent. Chi square test, one way Anova, and linear
regression were used.Results: HBsAg sero-positive cases decreased
from 4.9% at 2008 to 2.9% at 2010. More than half of sero-positive cases
(53.5%) aged more than 30 years. Gravidity and parity nearly remained the same
over years but abortion and rate of caesarean sections (CS) were increased.
Significant predictors for HBsAg sero-positive status were elder age group,
increased parity, increased abortion, CS as a mode of previous delivery,
history of blood transfusion and previous surgical maneuvers. Conclusion: The
HBsAg positive cases among Saudi pregnant women decreased. Age at HBsAg
assessment, parity, abortion, mode of previous delivery, history of blood
transfusion and previous surgical maneuvers were predictors for HBsAg
sero-positive status.
[Manal I. Hanafi Mahmoud, Fawzeia Habib. Review of the status of the HBsAg among
the pregnant women attended primary health care centers (PHCCs) in Medina,
Saudi Arabia between 2008 and 2010.J Am Sci 2012;8(10):519-523].
(ISSN: 1545-1003). http://www.jofamericanscience.org. 74
Key words: Pregnant women, antenatal care, sero- prevalence, hepatitis B virus
Abbreviations: Hepatitis B virus (HBV), Primary Health Care Centers (PHCCs), Caesarian sections (CS), Saudi Arabia (SA)
