HB-antigen in serum and synovialis in acute hepatitis with and without polyarthritis.
In 27 patients suffering from acute hepatitis serum and synovial-fluid were tested for HB-Ag. It was detected in the serum in 19 cases, in the synovial fluid in 2 cases, but never in both serum and synovial-fluid. HB-Ag was not found in 6 patients. Polyarthritis was seen in 10 cases; 5 of them carried HB-Ag in the serum, 2 in the synovial-fluid. A hepatitis B however, was also suspected in the 3 cases with polyarthritis lacking HB-Ag. The results suggest that virus B may persist in joints too and that polyarthritis associated with acute hepatitis is coupled to an infection with virus B.
D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001168:Arthritis / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology; D006511:Hepatitis B Antigens / Q000032:analysis*; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000472:pathogenicity; D006801:Humans; D007596:Joints / Q000382:microbiology; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000382:microbiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013582:Synovial Fluid / Q000382:microbiology*
D006511:Hepatitis B Antigens