ISSN : 2146-3123
E-ISSN : 2146-3131

Diagnostic Dilemma for Low Viremia with Significant Fibrosis; is Hepatitis B Virus DNA Threshold Level a Good Indicator for Predicting Liver Damage?
Ercan Yenilmez1, Rıza Aytaç Çetinkaya1, Ersin Tural2
1Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, İstanbul Sultan Abdulhamid Han Training and Research Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey
2Department of Pediatrics, İstanbul Sultan Abdulhamid Han Training and Research Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey
DOI : 10.4274/balkanmedj.2017.0888
Pages : 326-332

Abstract

Background: The most important difficulties about management of hepatitis B are still determining the liver damage and the right time to start antiviral therapy.
Aims: To reveal the role of hepatitis B virus DNA threshold level for prediction of liver fibrosis and inflammation in young-aged hepatitis B e-antigen negative chronic hepatitis B patients.
Study Design: Diagnostic accuracy study.
Methods: A total of 273 hepatitis B e-antigen negative young chronic hepatitis B patients with any hepatitis B virus DNA levels between 2008 and 2016, who had liver biopsy after at least 6 months follow up period, enrolled in this retrospective study. We created two groups as case and control, cases with hepatitis B virus DNA levels below 2000 IU/mL and controls with hepatitis B virus DNA levels over 2000 IU/mL. Having histological activity index ≥4 or/and fibrosis scores ≥2 were defined as significant histological abnormality. Then, we analyzed the relationship between these groups.
Results: We showed that significant fibrosis may occur in one third of young chronic hepatitis B patients with low viremia (30.2%, n=42/139 in cases, 55.2%, n=74/134 in controls). Among the 42 cases with low viremia and significant fibrosis, 21.4% had alanine aminotransferase level between 40-59 U/L, 42.8% had alanine aminotransferase level between 60-79 U/L, and 35.7% had alanine aminotransferase level over 80 U/L. There was weak correlation between hepatitis B virus DNA threshold level and fibrosis score (p<0.001, rho=0.253). The optimum serum hepatitis B virus DNA threshold level in our study for predicting significant fibrosis was 1293 IU/mL (p<0.001, AUC: 0.657±0.034). The optimum alanine aminotransferase threshold level for predicting significant histological activity index and fibrosis was 64.5 and 59.5 U/L, respectively. The sensitivity and the specificity of 1293 vs 2000 IU/mL hepatitis B virus DNA threshold with 60 U/L alanine aminotransferase threshold level for predicting F≥2 fibrosis score were similar (sensitivity: 0.43 and 0.38, specificity: 0.76 and 0.77, respectively).
Conclusion: Significant fibrosis may occur even in young cases with low viremia. It is not possible to define a single threshold hepatitis B virus DNA level for differentiating inactive carriers from patients with hepatitis B e-antigen-negative chronic hepatitis. Diagnostic accuracy of hepatitis B virus DNA with alanine aminotransferase thresholds for the prediction of significant fibrosis is weak.

Keywords : Chronic hepatitis B, fibrosis, HBV DNA, prediction, viremia
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