Opinion on the definition of "occult hepatitis B virus infection"
10.3969/j.issn.1001-5256.2023.05.006
- VernacularTitle:关于“隐匿性HBV感染”定义的拙见
- Author:
Rongrong XUE
1
;
Xinru WANG
2
;
Li XIAO
2
;
Chengyuan LIU
1
;
Wei WANG
2
;
Hongtao XU
2
;
Jianchun XIAN
2
Author Information
1. Department of Infectious Diseases, the First People's Hospital of Yancheng, Yancheng, Jiangsu 224005, China
2. Department of Infectious Diseases and Hepatology, Taizhou People's Hospital, Taizhou, Jiangsu 225300, China
- Publication Type:Academic contention
- Keywords:
Hepatitis B virus;
Hepatitis B;
Viral Load
- From:
Journal of Clinical Hepatology
2023;39(5):1037-1040
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
The presence of replication-competent HBV DNA in the liver and/or serum of HBsAg-negative individuals is a sufficient and necessary condition for the diagnosis of occult hepatitis B virus infection (OBI). In recent years, Chinese scholars have proposed what is considered a more "rigorous" definition, i.e., on this basis, HBV window period (WP) infection is excluded, which corresponds to a serum HBV DNA level of below the lower limit of detection or a low positive value (< 200 IU/mL). As the definition of WP for HBV infection remains unclear and its duration is highly variable, "HBV DNA < 200 IU/mL" is not the only criterion in OBI patients. Therefore, it is believed that there is still a lack of sufficient basis and operability for the definition of OBI based on "the exclusion of HBV WP infection" and "HBV DNA < 200 IU/mL" as "rigorous" conditions for the diagnosis of OBI.
