title: Occult hepatitis B virus infection in liver transplant patients in a Brazilian referral center.
abstract: Estimates of occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection prevalence varies among different studies depending on the prevalence of HBV infection in the study population and on the sensitivity of the assay used to detect HBV DNA. We investigated the prevalence of occult HBV infection in cirrhotic patients undergoing liver transplantation in a Brazilian referral center. Frozen liver samples from 68 adults were analyzed using a nested polymerase chain reaction assay for HBV DNA. The specificity of the amplified HBV sequences was confirmed by direct sequencing of the amplicons. The patient population comprised 49 (72.1%) males and 19 (27.9%) females with a median age of 53 years (range=18-67 years). Occult HBV infection was diagnosed in three (4.4%) patients. The etiologies of the underlying chronic liver disease in these cases were alcohol abuse, HBV infection, and cryptogenic cirrhosis. Two of the patients with cryptic HBV infection also presented hepatocellular carcinoma. Markers of previous HBV infection were available in two patients with occult HBV infection and were negative in both. In conclusion, using a sensitive nested polymerase chain reaction assay to detect HBV DNA in frozen liver tissue, we found a low prevalence of occult HBV infection in cirrhotic patients undergoing liver transplant, probably due to the low prevalence of HBV infection in our population.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Clínica Médica, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: T C A
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Ferrari
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Anatomia Patológica e Medicina Legal, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: M A P
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Xavier
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Anatomia Patológica e Medicina Legal, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: P V T
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Vidigal
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Genética Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: N S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Amaral
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Clínica Médica, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Diniz
authors.affiliation: Instituto Alfa de Gastroenterologia, Hospital das Clínicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Resende
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Pediatria, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Miranda
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Clínica Médica, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Faria
authors.affiliation: Instituto Alfa de Gastroenterologia, Hospital das Clínicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Lima
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Clínica Médica, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: L C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Faria
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D058345:Asymptomatic Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D015415:Biomarkers; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000150:complications; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005260:Female; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006521:Hepatitis, Chronic / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000821:virology*; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000150:complications; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence; D062606:Tertiary Care Centers; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D004279:DNA, Viral