[2-year follow-up of a series of cases of asymptomatic carriers of HBsAg antigen]. / Controllo a distanza di due anni di una casistica di portatori asintomatici dell'antigene HBsAg.

20 asymptomatic carriers of HBsAg antigen have been subjected to haemato-chemical examinations and liver biopsy and followed up after two years. The only altered serological test result regarded transaminases, except for one case where other liver function indices were irregular, and these were up in 13 cases at the first control and in 6 at the second. The histological changes observed in respectively 18 and 17 patients were in the majority of cases of persistent chronic hepatitis type. In one case the histopathological picture was related to active chronic hepatitis. It is therefore concluded that the term asymptomatic carrier is often inexact as the subjects are suffering from clinically silent chronic hepatitis.