Digestive endoscopies are not a risk factor for transmission of virus C.

摘要

The aim of the study reported by Karmochkine was to identify the routes of transmission of hepatitis C virus in a group of infected patients who were not drug-addicts and had not received any blood products, by comparing their exposure to habits that are potentially at risk for the transmission of virus C with that of a test group. The authors find certain probable routes among which they list digestive endoscopy on par with dermatological procedures, parenteralinjections, beauty treatments, acupuncture, tattooing, contact sports or cocaine-use, that may account for 73% of the contamination cases.This study the results of which were already presented in 2002 is open to criticism on several points. It concerns a historic comparison of two groups of patients, one with 450 HCV-infected people and the other one, the control group, with 750 people not tested for virus C. Even though the two groups were carefully matched, what is surprising is the size of the control group and the fact that they were not strictly comparable on the ethnic level. The gathering of information from the patients and particularly the verifying of risk factors through a simple telephonic interview do not guarantee the reliability of the collected data. Moreover, the date of performance of the digestive endoscopy with regard to thediscovery of anti-HCV (mean time of seropositivity of 4 years) is not specified. As the methods of performing the endoscopy were not always known, other risk factors may be responsible for contamination during hospitalization or associated treatments .