Occult HBV infection in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis patients.
OBJECTIVE
Occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection can be defined as the presence of HBV DNA in the liver and/or blood in the absence of detectable serum hepatitis B surface antigen (HBs Ag). There is a high prevalence of occult HBV infection in dialysis patients. This study investigated the prevalence of occult HBV infection in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) and hemodialysis (HD) patients and compared the prevalence of occult HBV infection in dialysis patients either with or without hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.


METHODS
In this cross-sectional study, 71 CAPD patients and 71 HD patients were evaluated. HBV DNA testing was performed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). We recorded general characteristics of the patients, duration of dialysis, HBs Ag, antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs), antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc), anti-HCV antibody (anti-HCV), HCV RNA, serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase levels (AST).


RESULTS
Twelve (16.9%) of the 71 HD patients and seven (9.8%) of the 71 CAPD patients were HBV DNA-positive. A statistically significant difference was not observed in the groups. Anti-HCV was negative and AST and ALT levels were normal in all of the HBV-DNA positive patients. Viral loads were low in both groups.


CONCLUSIONS
This is the first study that analyzes occult HBV prevalence in CAPD patients. We conclude that the prevalence of the occult HBV may be common in CAPD patients as in HD patients, and HCV positivity is not a contributing factor to occult HBV infection in dialysis patients.
Sav
Tansu
T
Kayseri State Hospital, Department of Nephrology, Kayseri, Turkey. savtansu@gmail.com
Gursoy
Sebnem
S
Torun
Edip
E
Sav
Nadide Melike
NM
Unal
Aydin
A
Oymak
Oktay
O
Utas
Cengiz
C
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010531:Peritoneal Dialysis, Continuous Ambulatory; D015995:Prevalence; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D055815:Young Adult