title: Can potentially infectious specimens containing hepatitis B virus be identified on the basis of their biochemical profile?
abstract: The potential infectivity of 1129 randomly selected plasma specimens was directly assayed by hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA dot-hybridization. Presence or absence of HBV was then correlated with a biochemical profile of 20 common analytes obtained on these same specimens. We found that potentially infectious specimens could not be identified on the basis of any combination of simple biochemical tests; indeed, the infectious specimens were more "normal" in some tests of liver function than were the non-infectious specimens.
mesh_terms: D001800:Blood Specimen Collection / Q000592:standards*; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000635:transmission; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007753:Laboratories / Q000592:standards; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D012449:Safety
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral