Serum hepatitis B virus DNA levels differentiating inactive carriers from patients with chronic hepatitis B

We compared serum hepatitis B virus (HBV)-DNA levels in different states of hepatitis B infection, and investigated whether there is an HBV-DNA value that can be used for differentiating inactive carriers from patients with hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-negative chronic hepatitis.

A retrospective study using sera at a followed endpoint from 64 Japanese patients with chronic HBV infection seen in Kobe University Hospital between 1989 and 2002. Sera of patients were assayed using a polymerase chain reaction-based assay.

Genotype C was dominant (95.4%). Patients with chronic hepatitis with an elevation of the serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level had significantly higher HBV-DNA levels than patients with persistently normal ALT. For one time observation at a followed endpoint, the mean HBV-DNA level of HBeAg-negative inactive carriers was significantly lower than that of HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis patients (3.6+/-1.0 versus 4.8+/-1.5 log copies/ml, P<0.005). The use of a cutoff value of 4.5 or 5.0 log copies/ml misclassified 23 and 18% of HBeAg-negative inactive carriers and 50 and 55% of patients with HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis. If testing were performed on two occasions with approximately a 4-month interval, the cutoff values of 4.5 and 5.0 log copies/ml would misclassify 20 and 10% of HBeAg-negative inactive carriers and 28.6 and 28.6% of patients with HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis.

The measurement of serum HBV DNA more than twice is useful for assessing chronic hepatitis B surface antigen carriers and confirms that 10 copies/ml may be an appropriate level of HBV for characterizing the inactive carrier state.