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| Year : 2006 | Volume
: 24
| Issue : 4 | Page : 306-307 |
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Five-year follow-up of hepatitis B surface antigen positive healthy voluntary blood donors: A preliminary observation
AK Singal
Department of Internal Medicine, James J. Peters VA Medical Center, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, 130 W Kingsbridge Road, NY 10468, USA
| Date of Submission | 13-Dec-2005 |
| Date of Acceptance | 02-Jan-2006 |
Correspondence Address:
A K Singal
Department of Internal Medicine, James J. Peters VA Medical Center, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, 130 W Kingsbridge Road, NY 10468
USA
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0255-0857.29403
How to cite this article:
Singal A K. Five-year follow-up of hepatitis B surface antigen positive healthy voluntary blood donors: A preliminary observation. Indian J Med Microbiol 2006;24:306-7 |
How to cite this URL:
Singal A K. Five-year follow-up of hepatitis B surface antigen positive healthy voluntary blood donors: A preliminary observation. Indian J Med Microbiol [serial online] 2006 [cited 2020 Jul 4];24:306-7. Available from: http://www.ijmm.org/text.asp?2006/24/4/306/29403 |
Dear Editor,
Data on the profile and outcome of healthy voluntary blood donors (VBDs) who are detected incidentally to be hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positive at the time of blood donation are scanty. We studied 45 such subjects (M: F 40:5; average age of 27 years) at the Tirath Ram Shah Hospital, Delhi. At presentation they were assessed with clinical examination, liver function tests, serological tests (HBeAg, anti-HBe and HBVDNA), alfa-feto protein (AFP) and ultrasound (USG). All the subjects were followed-up for five years (July 2000 to June 2005) with clinical and biochemical assessment every six months and serological assessment with AFP and USG every year.
Five of these 45 (11%) were positive for HBeAg [Table]. Two subjects (Group II) had pre-core mutant infection.[1] On follow up, none of the subjects from any group had clinical / biochemical deterioration or had developed HCC. Two subjects from Group III cleared HBsAg, whereas, in the rest 43 subjects serological profile remained the same on follow up. The benign course as reported in this observation is in agreement with other studies.[2],[3] However, there are contrary reports in the literature.[4] This is likely to be due to theheterogeneous study group in the report by Chandra et al .[4] It is known that hepatitis B can lead to serious consequences such as cirrhosis and HCC. Moreover, there are reports of these sequel even after development of anti-HBs antibodies.[5] It is therefore, mandatory for HBsAg positive subjects to have a regular follow-up. Although the short-term outcome of five years on HBsAg positive healthy VBDs is observed to be quite good, there is a clear need to derive long- term follow-up data on these subjects.
| ~ References | |  |
| 1. | Locarnini S, Bartholomeusz A, Hepatitis B virus mutants: Clinical presentation, diagnosis and management. In : Hepatitis B in India: Prevention and Management . Sarin SK, Singal AK, editors. CBS Publishers and Distributors: New Delhi; 2004. p. 127-47.  |
| 2. | deFranchis R, Meucci G, Vecchi M, Tatarella M, Colombo M, Del Ninno E, et al . The natural history of asymptomatic HBsAg carriers. Ann Intern Med 1993; 118 :191-4. |
| 3. | Villeneuve JP, Desrochers M, Infante-Rivard C, Willems B, Raymond G, Bourcier M, et al . A long term follow up study of asymptomatic hepatitis B surface antigen positive carriers in Montreal. Gastroenterology 1994; 196 :1000-5. |
| 4. | Chandra R, Kapoor D, Agarwal SR, Malhotra V, Sakhuja P, Sarin SK. Profile of chronic asymptomatic HBV infection in India. Indian J Med Res 2002; 116 :50-7. [PUBMED] |
| 5. | Huo TI, Wu JC, Lee PC, Chau GY, Lui WY, Tsay SH, et al . Sero-clearnace of HBsAg in chronic carriers does not necessarily imply a good prognosis. Hepatology 1998; 28 :231-6. |
Tables
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