Occult hbv infection among syrian hcv-infected patients

Abstract EN

Objective: It is generally suggested that occult HBV DNA can stimulate the development of hepatocellular carcinoma in HCV-infected patients.

However, its possible role in the clinical course of chronic hepatitis C is still tot clear.

The aim of our study was to elucidate the prevalence of occult HBV infection in the population of Syrian patients infected with HCV and to study whether the presence of this infection matches some epidemiological, nrological, histological or clinical parameters.

Methods: Forty patients (16 men, 9 women, 15 children) chronically infected with HCV (anti-HCV-positive, HCV RMA-positive) followed up by three state hospitals in Damascus were studied.

Results: Of 40 HCV-infected patients, 3 were HBsAg-positive (7.5%) and 37 were HBsAg-negative (92.5%).

Of 17 HBsAg-negative HCV-infected patients 12 (32%) had occult HBV DNA.

There was no statistically significant correlation between the presence of occult HBV DNA and age, sex, HCV RNA level, histological changes or stage of disease.

Lack of response to therapy was slightly more frequent in the group of patients with HBV DNA, than in the group of patients without it (78%/67%), but the difference was not statistically significant.

Conclusion: Occult HBV infection is rather frequent among Syrian HCV-infected patients, but it seems not to influence the clinical course of chronic hepatitis C.

More studies on a larger cohort of patients are needed.