Prognostic significance of hepatitis B antigenemia in kidney transplantation.
Serial hepatitis B antigen (HBAg) serum screenings were performed in 98 cadaver kidney transplant recipients: 51 were persistently found HBAg-negative while 47 became HBAg-positive, the majority of them acquiring HBAg postoperatively. In 28 patients, HB antigenemia persisted over 6 months postoperatively. 1- and 2-year graft survival rates were significantly greater in HBAg-positive than in HBAg-negative recipients. This finding suggests that HBAg tolerance is due to the ill-defined processes which determine kidney graft tolerance.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002102:Cadaver; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D013997:Time Factors; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous