Occult hepatitis B virus infection in liver transplant patients in a Brazilian referral center
AUTOR(ES)
Ferrari, T.C.A., Xavier, M.A.P., Vidigal, P.V.T., Amaral, N.S., Diniz, P.A., Resende, A.P., Miranda, D.M., Faria, A.C., Lima, A.S., Faria, L.C.
FONTE
Braz J Med Biol Res
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO
29/08/2014
RESUMO
Estimates of occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection prevalence varies among different studies depending on the prevalence of HBV infection in the study population and on the sensitivity of the assay used to detect HBV DNA. We investigated the prevalence of occult HBV infection in cirrhotic patients undergoing liver transplantation in a Brazilian referral center. Frozen liver samples from 68 adults were analyzed using a nested polymerase chain reaction assay for HBV DNA. The specificity of the amplified HBV sequences was confirmed by direct sequencing of the amplicons. The patient population comprised 49 (72.1%) males and 19 (27.9%) females with a median age of 53 years (range=18-67 years). Occult HBV infection was diagnosed in three (4.4%) patients. The etiologies of the underlying chronic liver disease in these cases were alcohol abuse, HBV infection, and cryptogenic cirrhosis. Two of the patients with cryptic HBV infection also presented hepatocellular carcinoma. Markers of previous HBV infection were available in two patients with occult HBV infection and were negative in both. In conclusion, using a sensitive nested polymerase chain reaction assay to detect HBV DNA in frozen liver tissue, we found a low prevalence of occult HBV infection in cirrhotic patients undergoing liver transplant, probably due to the low prevalence of HBV infection in our population.
Documentos Relacionados
- Prevalence of occult hepatitis B virus infection in kidney transplant recipients
- Occult hepatitis B virus infection in immunocompromised patients
- The influence of occult infection with hepatitis B virus on liver histology and response to interferon treatment in chronic hepatitis C patients
- Occult Hepatitis B Virus Infection and Clinical Outcomes of Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C
- Acute exacerbation of chronic hepatitis B virus infection in renal transplant patients