EVOLVING CLINICAL LANDSCAPE OF CHRONIC HEPATITIS B: A MULTICENTRE ITALIAN STUDY

Tommaso Stroffolini (1) , Piero Almasio (2) , Evangelista Sagnelli (3) , Alfonso Mele (4) , Giovanni Battista Gaeta (5)

1 Infectious and Tropical Diseases
2 Gastroenterology
3 Public,Clinical and Preventive Medicine
4 Laboratory of Epidemiology, Clinical Epidemiology Unit
5 Infectious Diseases Dept

The aim of the study was to evaluate the characteristics of chronic hepatitis B with special reference to the geographical origin of the patients and to the prevalence of HBeAg and viral and non-viral cofactors of liver disease. A cross-sectional multicentre survey was undertaken, which enrolled 1386 HBsAg chronic carriers observed consecutively in 21 referral centres over a six-month period. The prevalence of HBeAg in patients was 11%; the presence of HBeAg was associated independently with a younger age and coinfection with HIV. Anti-HDV, anti-HCV or anti-HIV antibodies were detected in 8.1%, 6.5% and 2%, respectively. However, among the patients first diagnosed during the study period (incident cases), 14.3% were anti-HDV positive. Seven percent of the patients were immigrants; they were younger than Italian patients and 18% were HBeAg positive; no difference was observed in the prevalence of anti-HDV, anti-HCV or anti-HIV antibodies. The presence of cirrhosis was associated independently with an age >52 years, the presence of anti-HDV or anti-HCV, alcohol use >4 drinks/day and a high BMI. The clinical epidemiology of chronic HBV infection shows a dynamic profile, with the potential for re-emergence of cases with HBeAg or anti-HDV and an emerging impact of metabolic factors on the evolution of liver disease.

Mots clés: Medicine

Tommaso Stroffolini, Piero Almasio, Evangelista Sagnelli, Alfonso Mele, Giovanni Battista Gaeta. EVOLVING CLINICAL LANDSCAPE OF CHRONIC HEPATITIS B: A MULTICENTRE ITALIAN STUDY. Journal of Medical Virology, 2009, 81 (12), pp.1999. ⟨10.1002/jmv.21643⟩. ⟨hal-00531830⟩