Background and Objective: Hepatitis B is considered as a potentially life-threatening infection in the liver caused by the hepatitis B virus. One of the high-risk groups to develop HBV infection is the patients undergoing hemodialysis. Despite the recent findings, information regarding the prevalence and determinants of hepatitis B infection among hemodialysis patients remain unclear in Jeddah due to lack of available studies. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of hepatitis B infection and possible risk factors among patients attending renal dialysis centers in Jeddah from 2015 to 2018.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in 5 renal dialysis centers located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from 2015 to 2018. All patients diagnosed with HBV infection who have undergone hemodialysis during the period of the study were included. Data was collected from the medical records of patients.

Results: Out of the total 1,205 patients who have undergone hemodialysis from 2015 to 2018, a total of 52 patients were found to be HBV-positive in this study (4.3%). All of whom were adults aged from 34 to 88 years (mean age of 58.73±11.5 years). Majority of the patients were male (78.4%), married (88.0%), and Saudi nationals (69.2%). Our findings presented 20 out of the 52 patients had a history of diabetes mellitus (38.5%), while 10 patients have undergone renal transplantation (19.2%). Duration of hemodialysis ranged from 0.1 to 28.0 years (6.01±6.3). The most common cause of renal failure was hypertension (48.1%), followed by diabetes mellitus (36.5%), and end-stage renal disease (23.1%). A co-infection rate of 7.7% was also found among the HD patients.

Conclusion: Our findings indicate a relatively higher percentage of HBV among patients on HD in comparing to the prevalence worldwide. This arise one big issue that increase the incidence of HBV which is the improper and ineffective implementation of safety protocols during hemodialysis procedure. Strict adherence to a comprehensive infection control measures suggested by infection control center at Saudi Arabia in dealing with hemodialysis patients, will help more than any other factors in reducing the burden of hepatitis B infection