Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1998 Jan;28(1):27-33.
doi: 10.1016/s0168-8278(98)80198-0.

Characteristics of patients with dual infection by hepatitis B and C viruses

J P Zarski  1 , B Bohn, A Bastie, J M Pawlotsky, M Baud, F Bost-Bezeaux, J Tran van Nhieu, J M Seigneurin, C Buffet, D Dhumeaux
Affiliations

Characteristics of patients with dual infection by hepatitis B and C viruses

J P Zarski et al. J Hepatol. 1998 Jan.

Abstract

Background/aims: The purpose of this study was to compare the epidemiological, biochemical, virological and histological characteristics of patients with chronic hepatitis B and C with those of patients suffering from chronic hepatitis C alone.

Methods: Twenty-three patients with chronic hepatitis C, who were anti-HCV positive and HBs antigen positive, were studied and subdivided into two groups according to the presence or absence of HBV DNA replication. They were compared to 69 age- and sex-matched patients with chronic hepatitis who were anti-HCV positive and HBs antigen negative. All patients were HCV RNA positive by PCR, anti-HIV negative and anti-HDV negative. HBV DNA and HCV RNA were detected in serum by means of a branched DNA assay and PCR. The HCV serotypes were determined by the Chiron Riba HCV serotyping SIA technique. The histological characteristics included the Knodell score.

Results: Epidemiological, biochemical and virological parameters were not different between the two groups. Only the prevalence of cirrhosis was greater in chronic hepatitis B and C patients than in patients with chronic hepatitis C alone (p = 0.01). Among chronic hepatitis B and C patients, HCV RNA level was significantly lower in HBV DNA positive than in HBV DNA negative patients (p = 0.01). Indeed, histological lesions were more severe in HBV DNA positive than in HBV DNA negative patients, including prevalence of cirrhosis (p = 0.01), Knodell score (p = 0.05) and, among the latter, piecemeal necrosis (p = 0.01) and fibrosis (p = 0.05). The characteristics of patients with dual infection did not differ according to the mode of contamination and duration of HBV disease, except for a shorter duration in patients contaminated by drug abuse than in other patients.

Conclusions: These results suggest that HBV DNA replication inhibits HCV RNA replication in patients with chronic active hepatitis B and C but increases the severity of histological lesions.

PubMed Disclaimer

MeSH terms