[Significance of hepatitis B serology in periarteritis nodosa]

21 patients with periarteritis nodosa (PN) were examined for evidence of viral hepatitis-B infection. Histologic evidence of PN was present in 11 patients, whereas in 10 patients the diagnosis of PN was based on the clinical presentation only. In the sera of 9 of the 21 patients (42%) HBsAg (4 patients) or anti-HBs (5 patients) was detected, while findings were present in 4-8% of blood donors. Hypertension, glomerulonephritis and renal failure developed more frequently in patients with hepatitis-B associated PN. The detection of immune complexes in the sera of hepatitis-B negative patients tends to suggest immune complex mediated mechanisms not related to hepatitis-B virus.