Symptomatic anti-HBe positive chronic hepatitis B in taiwan with special reference to persistent HBV replication and HDV superinfection
✍ Scribed by Jaw-Ching Wu; Shou-Dong Lee; Shyh-Haw Tsay; Yang-Te Tsai; Cho-Yu Chan; Yi-Shin Huang; Kwang-Juei Lo; Ling-Pai Ting
- Book ID
- 102906919
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1988
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 525 KB
- Volume
- 25
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0146-6615
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Ninety-four patients, who were admitted with symptoms of liver disease and found to be positive for hepatitis B surface antigen and antibody to hepatitis B e antigen (anti-HBe), were examined for hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA in serum and immunoglobulin antibody to hepatitis B core antigen and liver biopsies were stained for hepatic hepatitis B core antigen. Of 94 patients, 34 (36%) had evidence of HBV replication and 35 (37%) evidence of hepatitis D virus (HDV) superinfection. Most of the latter two groups of patients (greater than 70%) had evidence of chronic active hepatitis or active cirrhosis in their liver biopsies. The majority of these patients (greater than 80%) also had high levels of serum alanine aminotransferase (greater than 200 U/L) during the acute stage of their illness, and suffered from prolonged hepatic inflammation (greater than 1 year). Many of the patients (59%) also experienced frequent (1-6 episodes) relapsing exacerbations during a two-year follow-up period. Thus, persistent replication or reactivation of HBV and HDV superinfection were the two major causes of clinical exacerbations in anti-HBe-positive chronic HBV carriers in Taiwan, and also played an important role in the progression of their liver diseases and unfavorable outcomes.