title: A comparison of hepatitis B viral markers of patients in different clinical stages of chronic infection.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Hepatitis B viral markers may be useful for predicting outcomes such as liver-related deaths or development of hepatocellular carcinoma. We determined the frequency of these markers in different clinical stages of chronic hepatitis B infection.
  
  
  METHODS
  We compared baseline hepatitis B viral markers in 317 patients who were enrolled in a prospective study and identified the frequency of these tests in immune-tolerant (IT) patients, in inactive carriers, and in patients with either hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive or HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  IT patients were youngest (median age 27 years) and HBeAg-negative patients with cirrhosis were oldest (median age 58 years) (p = 0.03 to <0.0001). The male to female ratio was similar both in IT patients and in inactive carriers, but there was a male preponderance both in patients with chronic hepatitis and in patients with cirrhosis (p < 0.0001). The A1896 precore mutants were most prevalent in inactive carriers (36.4%) and HBeAg-negative patients with chronic hepatitis (38.8%; p < 0.0001), and the T1762/A1764 basal core promoter mutants were most often detected in HBeAg-negative patients with cirrhosis (65.1%; p = 0.02). Genotype A was detected only in 5.3% of IT patients, and genotype B was least often detected in both HBeAg-Positive patients with chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis (p = 0.03). The hepatitis B viral DNA levels were lowest in inactive carriers (2.69 log(10) IU/mL) and highest in IT patients (6.80 log(10) IU/mL; p = 0.02 to <0.0001). At follow-up, HBeAg-positive and HBeAg-negative patients with cirrhosis accounted for 57 of 64 (89.1%) liver-related deaths (p < 0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Differences in baseline hepatitis B viral markers were detected in patients in various clinical stages of hepatitis B virus infection. HBeAg-positive and HBeAg-negative patients with cirrhosis accounted for the majority of the liver-related fatalities.
authors.forename: Myron John
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.forename: Leeyen
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hsien
authors.forename: Jia-Horng
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kao
authors.forename: Francisco Antonio
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Durazo
authors.forename: Sammy
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saab
authors.forename: Lawrence Mitchell
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Blatt
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