TY - JOUR T1 - Should patients with active tuberculosis be routinely screened for chronic viral hepatitis? JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J VL - 44 IS - Suppl 58 SP - P3059 AU - J.L. Potter AU - Z.O. Babiker AU - H. Kunst AU - G.R. Foster AU - V.L.C. White Y1 - 2014/09/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/44/Suppl_58/P3059.abstract N2 - Background: Screening for viral hepatitis is not routinely recommended in patients diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB). Co-infection with hepatitis B (HBV) or C (HCV) viruses is a risk factor for hepatotoxicity in patients receiving anti-tuberculous therapy. TB, HBV, and HCV are major imported infections in the United Kingdom.Objectives: We determined the prevalence of HBV and HCV among new cases of active tuberculosis in our treatment centre in East London.Methods: Patients diagnosed with active TB during 2013 were identified using the London TB register. Data on demographic characteristics, HBV surface antigen (HBsAg), HCV antibody, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) were retrospectively analysed.Results: In total, 213 new cases of active tuberculosis were notified during 2013. The median age was 35 years (range: 16-90). Males accounted for 61% of our cohort. The ethnic origins of the 81.22% foreign born patients were Bangladeshi 48, Indian 36, Pakistani 28, Black African 31, White 8, Chinese 2, Other 20, and Unknown 1. Overall, 154 patients were screened for HBV, 162 for HCV, and 202 for HIV. HBsAg was detected in 1.95% while HCV antibody was detected in 1.24%. All patients infected with HBV or HCV were foreign born. Patients infected with HIV accounted for 9.78% of our cohort and the proportions of those co-infected with HBV or HCV were 12.5% and 5.88% respectively.Conclusions: Routine screening for HBV and HCV on an opt-out basis would be justified in our setting given the high proportion of both foreign born and HIV-infected patients. Further research into the magnitude of HBV/HCV co-infection with active or latent TB and the cost-effectiveness of routine screening is needed. ER -