Role of Hepatitis B Virus Genotypes in CHB

OCD

Clinical Infectious Diseases    2003;37:593-597
© 2003 by the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved.
1058-4838/2003/3704-0019$15.00
BRIEF REPORT

Role of Hepatitis B Virus Genotypes in Chronic Hepatitis B Exacerbation

Man-Fung Yuen,1 Erwin Sablon,2 Danny Ka-Ho Wong,1 He-Jun Yuan,1 Benjamin
Chun-Yu Wong,1 Annie On-On Chan,1 and Ching-Lung Lai1

1Department of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital,
Hong Kong, and 2Innogenetics, Ghent, Belgium



Hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotypes and precore and core promoter mutations
were determined in 318 patients with HBV. Patients infected with HBV
genotype B had a higher median alanine aminotransferase level and bilirubin
level and a lower median albumin level during exacerbations of disease,
compared with patients infected with HBV genotype C (all P < .001). By
logistic regression analysis, HBV genotype B infection (P = .014) and low
albumin levels (P = .006) were independently associated with a higher risk
of hepatic decompensation during severe exacerbations of disease. Patients
infected with genotype B had a significantly higher mortality due to hepatic
decompensation than did patients with genotype C (70% vs. 27.8%; P = .05).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------     Received 13 January 2003; accepted 19 February 2003; electronicallypublished 29 July 2003

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