title: Serum hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA levels at different stages of clinical course in patients with chronic HBV infection in an endemic area.
abstract: The aims of this study were to investigate serum hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA levels at different clinical stages in patients with chronic HBV infection, and to determine the serum HBV DNA level that discriminated HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B(CHB) cases from inactive HBsAg carriers. In all, 222 patients, encompassing 68 HBeAg-positive CHB patients (HBeAg-positive, ALT-elevation), 89 HBeAg-negative CHB patients (HBeAg-negative, ALT-elevation), and 65 inactive HBsAg carriers (HBeAg-negative, ALT-normal), were tested. The ALT levels had been tested more than twice during the previous six months, and the serum HBV DNA levels were quantified by a polymerase chain reaction-based assay. The serum HBV DNA levels of the HBeAg-negative patients were significantly lower than those of the HBeAg-positive patients (median 2.7 x 10(4) vs. 1.6 x 10(8) copies/mL; p=0.000). In addition, the HBV DNA levels of the HBeAg-negative CHB patients were significantly higher than those of the inactive HBsAg carriers (median 2.2 x 10(5) vs. 3.2 x 10(3) copies/ mL; p=0.000). The optimal HBV DNA level for discriminating HBeAg-negative CHB cases from inactive HBsAg carriers was 2.0 x 10(4) copies/mL. The serum HBV DNA levels were lower than the cutoff value in 72.3% (47/65) of the inactive HBsAg carriers, and in 31.5% (28/89) of the HBeAg-negative CHB patients. The serum HBV DNA levels differed significantly between these two groups. However, the levels in the two groups overlapped extensively, preventing the definition of a differentiation cut-off value.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Pusan National University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Jeong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Heo
authors.forename: Tae Hyun
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Baik
authors.forename: Hyung Hoi
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Gwang Ha
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Dae Hwan
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Geun Am
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Mong
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Ung Suk
authors.initials: US
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012372:ROC Curve
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D004247:DNA