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Hepatitis B in renal transplant recipients: An assessment of the relationship of viral replication to liver pathology
Author(s) -
LAWSON M. J.,
FOCK K. M.,
GOWANS E. J.,
MATHEW T. H.,
BURRELL C. J.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
journal of gastroenterology and hepatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.214
H-Index - 130
eISSN - 1440-1746
pISSN - 0815-9319
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1746.1988.tb00216.x
Subject(s) - hbsag , medicine , hbeag , hepatitis b virus , viral replication , immunology , hepatitis b , viral disease , virology , liver disease , virus , hepatitis , gastroenterology
To determine the natural history of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in renal transplant recipients, 16 recipients who remained chronic HBsAg carriers were followed for 2–15 years by assaying hepatitis Be antigen (HBeAg) and hepatitis B viral DNA (HBV DNA). The results were compared with sequential liver biochemistry and histology. Similarly, nine HBsAg‐negative renal transplant patients were studied for up to 10 years. It was found that different patterns of HBV replication were described in a majority of long‐term HBsAg‐positive renal transplant patients with intermittent virus replication being particularly common. A minority of patients with viral replication showed co‐existing elevated transaminases. Development of liver disease was more common among HBsAg‐positive patients, but when the various patterns of infection were correlated with long‐term outcome, no one pattern was clearly more predictive of an adverse outcome.