Liver biopsy and clinical characteristics of inactive HBsAg carriers / 中华全科医师杂志

Objective To assess the liver biopsy and the clinical characteristics of inactive HBsAg carriers.Methods One hundred and ten inactive HBsAg carriers,including 76 males and 34 females aged (38.9 ± 9.4) years (21-66),underwent liver biopsy from January 2011 to September 2015,the histopathological findings and clinical features were analyzed.Among 110 cases the inflammation activity (A) was ＜ A2 in 73 cases and ≥A2 in 37 cases;the fibrosis (F) ＜ F2 in 63 cases and ≥F2 in 47 cases.The upper limits of normal (ULN) for ALT was defined as 30 U/L for men and 19 U/L for women according to World Health Organization (WHO) standard,and 50 U/L for men and 40 U/L for women according to Chinese national standard.There were 59 cases with ALT ＜ 1 × ULN of WHO standard and 110 cases with ALT ＜ 1 × ULN of Chinese standard.Results In 110 inactive HBsAg carriers,there were 100 cases (90.9％) ≥A1 and 37 cases (33.6％) ≥A2,84 cases (76.3％) ≥F1 and 47 cases (42.7％) ≥F2.The severity of A and F were both higher in males than that in females,especially that of F (U =2.162,P =0.032;x2 =5.315,P =0.021).But there were no statistical differences between WHO standard group and Chinese standard group (U =0.951,0.435;P =0.341,0.663).Along with the increase of age,the degrees of A and F aggravated (F =3.705,5.915;P =0.014,0.001).The average ages in ≥ A2 group and ≥F2 group were (41.7 ± 9.6) years and (38.7 ± 8.1) years,respectively.The independent risk factors for severity of A and F were age,gender (male) and age,respectively.Conclusion There may be histological damages of varying degree in liver tissues of most inactive HBsAg carriers,and for those aged 40 years and over,especially males screening of liver histological activity and fibrosis would be necessary.

Inactive hepatitis B surface antigen carriers and intrafamilial tramsmission: results of a 10-year study

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The aims of the present study were to determine the outcomes of inactive hepatitis B virus (HBV) surface antigen (HBsAg) carriers over a 10-year study period and to elucidate the HBV serological profile of their family members. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the medical files of inactive HBsAg carriers followed up at the Department of Infectious Diseases of Kocatepe University Medical Faculty Hospital between March 2001 and January 2011. RESULTS: In total, 438 inactive HBsAg carriers were enrolled in this trial. The follow-up period was 33.7+/-22.5 months (mean+/-SD). Anti-hepatitis-B surface antibody seroconversion occurred in 0.7% of cases, while chronic hepatitis B was found in 0.5%. The anti-hepatitis-D virus (HDV) status was evaluated in 400 patients and anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) in 430. It was found that 1% and 0.2% were positive for anti-HDV and anti-HCV, respectively. HBV serology was investigated in at least 1 family member of 334/438 (76.3%) patients. The HBsAg positivity rate was 34.6% in 625 family members of 334 patients. A comparison of the HBsAg positivity rates in terms of HBV DNA levels in index cases revealed that HBsAg seropositivity rates were higher in family members of HBV DNA-negative patients than in family members of HBV DNA-positive cases (P=0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The HBsAg positivity rate was higher in family members of inactive HBsAg carriers than in the general population; these family members therefore have a higher risk of HBV transmission. Furthermore, despite negative HBV DNA levels, transmission risk was not reduced in these patients, and horizontal transmission seems to be independent of the HBV DNA value.

Serum ALT and HBV DNA Levels in Patients with HBeAg-Negative Chronic Hepatitis B / 대한간학회지

BACKGROUND/AIMS: HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B (CHB) has a poor long-term prognosis. Since no precise clinically relevant HBV thresholds are known in HBeAg-negative CHB, the decision to treat is difficult. The aim of this study was to evaluate the levels of serum HBV DNA and transaminase and to investigate the correlation of these values in patients with HBeAg-negative CHB. METHODS: The study analyzed the sera from 82 patients with HBeAg-negative CHB, 61 men and 21 women. The mean age was 45 years. The patients were divided into two groups according to serum ALT levels: the patients with lower ALT level (n=52, UNL or= 2 X UNL). The level of serum HBV DNA was determined by the Cobas Amplicor HBV Monitor(TM) (Roche). RESULTS: The median serum HBV DNA level was 2.7 X 10(5) copies/mL in patients with HBeAg-negative CHB. The median serum HBV DNA level of patients with a higher ALT level (1.0 X 10(6) copies/mL) was significantly higher than that of patients with a lower ALT level (5.6 X 10(4) copies/mL)(p<0.001). The serum ALT level was correlated with serum HBV DNA levels in patients with HBeAg-negative CHB (r=0.416, p<0.001). The serum level of HBV DNA in patients with cirrhosis (median 2.0 X 10(5) copies/mL) did not differ from patients without cirrhosis (median 4.7 X 10(5) copies/mL). CONCLUSIONS: The level of serum HBV DNA was higher in patients with higher serum ALT level than it was in patients with lower serum ALT, and it was closely correlated with serum ALT levels in HBeAg-negative CHB.