title: Acute type B hepatitis in parenteral drug-addicts (PDA): prognostic value of circulating HBsAg/IgM complexes.
abstract: Fifty-three parenteral drug-addicts with acute viral hepatitis type B were tested by a solid-phase radioimmunoassay for circulating HBsAg/IgM complexes in the acute phase and in the follow-up. Among the 47 recovered patients HBsAg/IgM complexes were either absent from the onset of the disease, or disappeared from serum within 4 weeks of admission, long before HBsAg had cleared or serum alanine aminotransferase has returned to normal. On the contrary, HBsAg/IgM complexes persisted indefinitely among the 6 patients who developed a chronic HBsAg-positive hepatitis. These results indicate that sequential serum testing for HBsAg/IgM complexes might be of value in predicting the long-term outcome of acute type B hepatitis of parenteral drug-addicts.
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000936:Antigen-Antibody Complex / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology*; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000032:analysis*; D007275:Injections, Intravenous / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications*
chemical_list: D000936:Antigen-Antibody Complex; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens; D007075:Immunoglobulin M