• David B Ramsay, Mark Friedman, and Marie L Borum.
• Division of Gastroenterology and Liver Disease, George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20037, USA. dramsay@gwu.edu
• South. Med. J. 2007 Jul 1; 100 (7): 683-5.

BackgroundHCV infection with concurrent or superinfection with HAV or HBV has the potential to worsen the liver status of HCV-infected individuals. This study evaluates if patients' race or gender influenced whether HAV or HBV serologic status was determined for the purpose of providing immunization.MethodsMedical records of consecutive African-American and white patients referred for management of HCV were evaluated to determine whether the referring physicians had obtained HAV and HBV serology.ResultsRace and gender analysis revealed a statistically significant difference (P < 0.0001) in HAV testing of African-American and white patients, a statistically significant difference in HAV (P < 0.0001) and HBV (P < 0.0001) testing of African-American and white men, and a statistically significant difference (P = 0.0026) in HBV testing of African-American and white women.ConclusionHCV-infected individuals were inconsistently tested for HAV and HBV. Patients' race, but not gender, had a significant impact upon whether HCV-infected individuals were tested for HAV and HBV.

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