Clinical Characteristics of Occult HBV Infection and Impact on Treatment Response in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C / 대한내과학회지

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The prevalence of occult HBV infection (OBI) in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) in Korea has not been reported. Additionally, it is unclear whether OBI influences treatment outcome in CHC patients. We investigated the prevalence of OBI and its impact on treatment outcome in patients with CHC. METHODS: Seventy-six patients with CHC were enrolled and treated with pegylated or conventional interferon and ribavirin. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA was detected by nested polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: Among the 68 patients who completed treatment and follow-up, HBV DNA was detected in serum from nine (13.2%) patients, liver tissue from 10 (14.7%), and serum or liver tissue from 15 (22.1%). OBI was diagnosed in nine (12.7%) control subjects. No difference in the prevalence of OBI between patients with CHC and controls was observed (13.2 vs. 12.0%; p = 0.92). No significant differences in age, sex, genotype 1 frequency, amount of hepatitis C virus RNA, anti-hepatitis B surface antigen/anti-hepatitis B core-IgG seropositivity, staging, or histology grading were observed in patients with or without HBV DNA. Sustained virological response was achieved in 73.3% of patients with OBI and 83.0% without OBI (p = 0.46). CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that a significant proportion of patients with CHC have occult HBV infection and that OBI does not affect treatment outcome in patients with CHC.