Correlation between serum HBV DNA and HBsAg levels in non-cirrhotic HBeAg positive and negative chronic hepatitis B patients

Abstract

Background: Quantification of serum HBV DNA is a laborious, time-consumed and expensive method requiring special machines and technicians. Quantification of serum HBsAg levels is recently available and a more favorable test to perform than HBV DNA quantification especially for developing countries like India. Aim: To evaluate the correlation between serum HBsAg and HBV DNA levels in the treatment naïve HBeAg-positive and -negative non-cirrhotic chronic hepatitis B (CHB) individuals with HBV DNA greater than 2000 IU/ mL and ALT greater than twice the upper limit of normal. Material and Methods: A descriptive-analytical (cross-sectional) study was carried out in 30 Indian non-cirrhotic patients of CHB with evaluation of serum HBsAg, HBeAg, Anti-HBe and HBV DNA levels through standardized methods. Result: Non-association of HBsAg and HBV DNA levels in HBeAg-positive and -negative patients (p>0.05) was observed. Conclusion: The correlation between HBsAg and HBV DNA levels was insignificant. In our study individuals, a low level of HBsAg indicates a low HBV DNA level, whereas a high HBsAg level did not correspond to a high viral load in most of the cases.