title: Hepatitis E seroprevalence in inflammatory bowel disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Several cases of chronic infection by hepatitis E virus (HEV) in immunocompromised patients have been described recently. Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are frequently immunocompromised because of the disease itself or due to therapy. Our aims were to determine HEV seroprevalence in patients with IBD and to detect possible chronic forms.
  
  
  METHODS
  We prospectively selected a random sample of 87 patients from our local IBD clinic database at the Gastroenterology Service, Hospital Ramón y Cajal, in Madrid, Spain. Patients completed an oral epidemiologic interview. Anti-HEV IgG and IgM antibodies and HEV-RNA were determined. Medical records were reviewed, focusing on drug exposure.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We included 87 patients, with a mean age of 44.7 years (SD 16) and a mean of 10.4 years (SD 8.4) with IBD. Fifty-seven percent were diagnosed with Crohn's disease, 41.4% with ulcerative colitis and 1.1% with unclassified IBD. A total of 41.4% had received systemic glucocorticoids for more than 3 months, 32.2% had been treated with thiopurines, 16.1% with biological drugs, and 3.4% with methotrexate. Anti HEV-IgM was determined in 75 patients and IgG in 80, and were positive in 2.7% and 1.3%, respectively. HEV-RNA was analyzed in a random subset of 46 patients, and all determinations were negative. Therefore, no case of chronic HEV infection was detected.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found a low HEV seroprevalence of just 1.14% in patients with IBD, similar to that in the general population. This could be due to the lower degree of immunosuppression in this group, or to different dietary habits.
authors.affiliation: IBD Clinic, Gastroenterology Department, Hospital "Ramón y Cajal", E28034 Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: carsenosiain@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Carla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Senosiain
authors.affiliation: IBD Clinic, Gastroenterology Department, Hospital "Ramón y Cajal", E28034 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: González-Tallón A
authors.affiliation: IBD Clinic, Gastroenterology Department, Hospital "Ramón y Cajal", E28034 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: López-Sanromán
authors.affiliation: Clinical Virology, Microbiology Department, Hospital "Ramón y Cajal", E28034 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Maria Luisa
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Mateos
authors.affiliation: Microbiology Unit, Farmacy Department, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera, Moncada, Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: Maria Teresa
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Pérez-Gracia
authors.affiliation: IBD Clinic, Gastroenterology Department, Hospital "Ramón y Cajal", E28034 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Maria Concepción
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: García-Sánchez
authors.affiliation: IBD Clinic, Gastroenterology Department, Hospital "Ramón y Cajal", E28034 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Maite
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maroto
authors.affiliation: IBD Clinic, Gastroenterology Department, Hospital "Ramón y Cajal", E28034 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Garrido
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D016751:Hepatitis E / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016752:Hepatitis E virus; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M
keywords: Enfermedad inflamatoria intestina; HEV; Immunocompromised; Inflammatory bowel disease; Inmunodeprimidos; Seroprevalence; Seroprevalencia; VHE