[Identification of hepatitis B antigens in hepatic tissue in various forms of acute hepatitis]

Presence of HBsAg and HBcAg have been tested by immunohistochemical technique (peroxidase-antiperoxidase complex, PAP) in liver tissue of 223 patients with acute viral hepatitis using formalin fixed and paraffin embedded pieces of tissue. Histologic picture in usual acute viral hepatitis in 203 cases, submassive hepatic necrosis in 16, massive hepatic necrosis in four. HBsAg was positive in the serum of 85 of the 223 patients. In seven cases HBsAg and/or HBcAg was detected in liver tissue. In five of them only HBcAg was present; in one case only HBsAg and in one other HBsAg and HBcAg were detected. All but one of this seven cases had HBsAg positive in the blood. Three of seven cases with antigens in liver tissue went into chronic active hepatitis, one of them died with cirrhosis. The low incidence of detection of HBsAg or HBcAg in liver tissue was explained by the clearing of virus during the acute phase. The presence of this viral marks during this phase could be correlated with a bad evolution.