Evaluation of the value of quantitative assay of hepatitis B e antigen in diagnosis and therapy of chronic hepatitis B / 中华传染病杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To evaluate the value of Microparticle Enzyme Immunoassay(MEIA),a quantitative assay, in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Methods MEIA, Enzyme linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA), and quantitative PCR were used to detect e antigen, hepatitis B serum markers, and the quantity of HBV DNA in 249 CHB patients and 32 non CHB patients respectively. Expression of HBcAg in Liver tissue was detected by using S P method. These measures were used to illuminate the relationships among serum e antigen quantity, hepatitis B serum markers, the quantity of HBV DNA, the quantity of HBcAg in hepatocytes, and pathologic diagnosis of liver tissues. Results 1. The sensitivity of MEIA (80.28%) to detect serum e antigen is higher than that of ELISA (69.01%)( ? 2=9.312, P =0.002).2. The serum e antigen quantity is positively correlated with the logarithm of the quantity of HBV DNA ( r =0.411, P =0.000). 3. The level of serum e antigen is positively correlated with the semi quantitative of HBcAg in hepatocytes ( r =0.646, P =0.000). 4. The serum e antigen quantity is negatively correlated with pathologic degree of liver tissues ( r =-0.172, P =0.006). Conclusions MEIA is a sensitive, stable, and reliable method to assay the serum e antigen quantity which could be used to evaluate the replication of HBV and the degree of liver damage.