title: HBsAg titers in the different phases of hepatitis B infection in Syrian patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Little is known about hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) level during the natural course of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. The aims of this study were to determine the HBsAg titer in the different phases of HBV infection and to evaluate for the presence of a correlation between HBsAg titers and HBV DNA levels.
  
  
  METHODS
  272 HBV patients were analyzed in a cross-sectional study. The patients were classified into 4 categories: immune tolerant phase (IT, n=9), immune clearance phase (IC, n=26), low-replicative phase (LR, n=131), and HBeAg-negative hepatitis (ENH, n=106).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Median HBsAg titers were different between each phase of CHB (p<0.001): IT (4.31log(10)IU/ml), IC (4.42log(10)IU/ml), LR (3.32log(10)IU/ml) and ENH (3.71log(10)IU/ml). Correlation of HBsAg and HBV DNA was strong in IT patients (r=0.74) and the whole group (r=0.83), moderate in the ENH phase (r=0.44) and poor in the IC (r=0.14) and the LR phases (r=0.080).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This large study demonstrates that in HBV patients, HBsAg levels are significantly different in the different stages of the disease. A correlation between serum HBV DNA and HBsAg titers does not exist except in the IT and ENH phases. Three other studies have addressed the same issue on different genotypes and we notice that there is no concordance between the 4 studies. This leads to conclude that measurement of HBsAg level, for the time being, will not replace the serum HBV DNA as a marker of replication.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Saint Louis Hospital, Ismailiye, Aleppo, Syria. antaki@scs-net.org
authors.forename: Nabil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Antaki
authors.forename: Negib
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zeidane
authors.forename: Nezameldine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Alhaj
authors.forename: Milad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hadad
authors.forename: Osama
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Baroudi
authors.forename: Fadi
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Antaki
authors.forename: Raed
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Abouharb
authors.forename: Samir
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Haffar
authors.forename: Jarir
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Abdelwahab
authors.forename: Sawsan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alideeb
authors.forename: Fouad
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Asaad
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aljesri
authors.forename: Daad
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Doghman
authors.forename: Riad
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Aaraj
authors.forename: Nazir
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ibrahim
authors.forename: Ayman
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.forename: Marwan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Assil
authors.forename: Houda
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sabah
authors.forename: Nizar
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Katranji
authors.forename: Kamel
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kebbewar
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013593:Syria / Q000453:epidemiology; D014779:Virus Replication; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D004279:DNA, Viral; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens