Evaluation of the Seroprevalence of Infectious Diseases in 2,445 in vitro Fertilization Cycles

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the seroprevalence of positive markers for syphilis, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) I and II, human T cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV) I and II, and hepatitis B and C among women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF). Methods We conducted a retrospective analysis among patients who underwent IVF, between January 2013 and February 2016, and who had complete screening records. Results We analyzed 1,008 patients who underwent IVF, amounting to 2,445 cycles. Two patients (0.2%) tested positive for HIV I and II and none for HTLV I and II. Three patients (0.3%) had positive screening for syphilis, and two (0.2%) had positive hepatitis C antibody test (anti-HCV). A positive hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HbsAg) test was observed in 4 patients (0.4%), while 47 (4.7%) patients were positive for IgG antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HbC IgG), and only 1 (0.1%) was positive for IgM antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HbC IgM). The anti-HbS test was negative in 659 patients (65.3%). Only 34.7% of the patients had immunity against the Hepatitis B virus. Patients with an anti-HbS negative result were older than those with a hepatitis B test (anti-HbS) positive result (36.3 versus 34.9; p < 0.001). Conclusion The present study showed lower infection rates than the Brazilian ones for the diseases studied in patients undergoing IVF. Only a few patients were immunized against hepatitis B.