A comparison of hepatitis B viral markers of patients in different clinical stages of chronic infection

摘要

PurposeHepatitis B viral markers may be useful for predicting outcomes such as liver-related deaths or development of hepatocellular carcinoma. We determined the frequency of these markers in different clinical stages of chronic hepatitis B infection.Methods We compared baseline hepatitis B viral markers in 317 patients who were enrolled in a prospective study and identified the frequency of these tests in immune-tolerant (IT) patients, in inactive carriers, and in patients with either hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive or HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis.Results IT patients were youngest (median age 27?years) and HBeAg-negative patients with cirrhosis were oldest (median age 58?years) (p?=?0.03 to <0.0001). The male to female ratio was similar both in IT patients and in inactive carriers, but there was a male preponderance both in patients with chronic hepatitis and in patients with cirrhosis (p?