title: Disappearance of hepatitis B surface antigen during an unusual case of fulminant hepatitis B.
abstract: A 30-year-old surgical resident was admitted to the hospital with symptoms of acute hepatitis; two days later he became comatose. Hepatitis B surface antigen had been detected in his serum two days prior to admission, but it was not detected at any time thereafter. Hepatitis B e antigen, antibody to hepatitis B core antigen, and antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen were detected using sensitive radioimmunoassays at admission. Titers of antibody to hepatitis B core antigen increased over the next five weeks. Clearance of hepatitis B e antigen and subsequent appearance of antibody to hepatitis B e antigen accompanied clinical improvement and recovery. This unusual case documents that hepatitis B surface antigen can become undetectable during the course of fulminant hepatitis B and indicates the importance of tests for other serologic markers of hepatitis B virus in the evaluation of hepatitis B surface antigen-negative fulminant hepatitis.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000032:analysis*; D006513:Hepatitis B e Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens; D006513:Hepatitis B e Antigens