Background: Although risk factors and useful preventive measures are largely known, specific data about the course and prognosis of acute hepatitis C among healthcare workers is lacking.
Aim: To analyze the data, course, and outcome of a series of patients with occupationally transmitted acute hepatitis C in France.
Methods and setting: An observational multicenter study based on two consecutive acute hepatitis C cohorts, retrospective then prospective, registered between 1993 and 2007, mostly in general hospitals.
Results: A cohort of 23 patients with occupationally transmitted hepatitis C virus (HCV) was set up. Occupational accident registration was done in 14 (61%) cases. They were mainly women (n=14), with a mean age of 43 years. The disease was diagnosed during surveillance after exposure in 16 patients, and nine had hyperbilirubinemia. Early treatment was applied to nine of them, with eight who sustained viral response (SVR). Fourteen underwent surveillance: spontaneous viral clearance occurred in nine of them, with two relapses. Five patients with persistent HCV RNA 12 weeks after the diagnosis were then treated, with four SVR.
Conclusion: Information and prevention of healthcare workers concerning occupational HCV transmission need to be improved, and all blood-exposure accidents should be registered. Spontaneous viral clearance occurred in half of the patients. Antiviral treatment was highly effective, with a SVR of 86%.