Prevalence of occult hepatitis B virus infection in haemodialysis patients from central Greece

Table 1 Characteristics of 366 ESRF patients (mean ± SD)

	ESRF patients (n = 366)
Sex (M/F)	243/123
Age (mean/range, yr)	60.5/17-85
Haemodialysis duration (mo)1	49.2 ± 48.2
Dialysis type (haemodialysis/peritoneal dialysis)	352/14
Known history of viral hepatitis (yes/no)2	51/315
History of transfusions (yes/no)	129/247
Number of blood units	6.8 ± 4.7
Duration of erythropoietin treatment (mo)	46.2 ± 35.8

¹Haemodialysis duration was calculated from the date of the first haemodialysis procedure to the date of the collection of the sera;

²Proven history of viral hepatitis, either icteric or anicteric. M: Male; F: Female; ESRF: End-stage renal failure.

Table 2 Prevalence of HBV, HCV, and HEV serological markers, as well as HBV-DNA, in individual haemodialysis units n (%)

	Unit 1 (n = 60)	Unit 2 (n = 70)	Unit 3 (n = 119)	Unit 4 (n = 56)	Unit 5 (n = 61)	Total (n = 366)
HBsAg	9 (15)	2 (2.9)	3 (2.5)	2 (3.6)	4 (6.6)	20 (5.5)
Anti-HBs	41 (68.3)	39 (55.7)	87 (73.1)	38 (67.9)	40 (65.6)	245 (66.9)
Anti-HBc	32 (53.3)	40 (57.1)	39 (32.8)	35 (62.5)	29 (47.5)	175 (47.8)
HBeAg	0	0	1 (0.8)	1 (1.8)	0	2 (0.5)
Anti-HBe	13 (21.7)	14 (20)	15 (12.6)	17 (30.4)	14 (23)	73 (19.9)
HBV-DNA	6 (10)	1 (1.4)	3 (2.5)	2 (3.6)	3 (4.9)	15 (4.1)
Anti-HCV	7 (11.7)	27 (38.6)	27 (22.7)	20 (35.7)	7 (11.5)	88 (24)
Anti-HEV	3 (5)	1 (1.4)	4 (3.4)	1 (1.8)	6 (9.8)	15 (4.1)

HEV: Hepatitis E virus; HBV: Hepatitis B virus; HCV: Hepatitis C virus.

Table 3 Epidemiological, biochemical and serological markers of HBV, HCV and HEV in 366 patients with ESRF according to HBV-DNA positivity (mean ± SD)

	HBV-DNA		P value
	Positive (n = 15)	Negative (n = 351)
Sex (M/F)	12/3	231/120	NS
Age (yr)	66 ± 13	60 ± 13	NS
Dialysis type (haemodialysis/peritoneal dialysis)	15/0	337/14	NS
History of hepatitis (yes/no)	0/15	51/300	NS
History of transfusions (yes/no)	4/11	125/226	NS
Number of blood units	3.5 ± 1.9	4.9 ± 5.2	NS
Duration of erythropoietin treatment (mo)	30 ± 27	46 ± 36	NS
AST (UNL 40 U/L)	17 ± 8	22 ± 19	NS
ALT (UNL 40 U/L)	18 ± 11	26 ± 20	NS
HBsAg (pos/neg)	12/3	8/343	< 0.001
Anti-HBc (pos/neg)	13/2	162/189	0.003
Anti-HBs (pos/neg)	2/13	243/108	< 0.001
HBeAg (pos/neg)	1/14	1/350	NS
Anti-HBe (pos/neg)	11/4	62/289	< 0.001
Anti-HCV (pos/neg)	0/15	88/263	0.03
Anti-HEV (pos/neg)	1/14	14/337	NS

NS: Not significant; UNL: Upper normal limit.

Table 4 HBV, HCV, and HEV serology in 15 HBV-DNA positive patients n (%)

HBsAg+	12 (80)
HBsAg+, anti-HBc+, anti-HBe+	10 (66.7)
HBsAg+, anti-HBc+, HBeAg+	1 (6.7)
HBsAg+, anti-HBc+, anti-HBe+, anti-HBs+	1 (6.7)
Anti-HCV+	0 (0)
Anti-HEV+	0 (0)
HBsAg-	3 (20)
HBsAg-, anti-HBc+, anti-HBs+	1 (6.7)
HBsAg-, anti-HBc-, anti-HBs-	2 (13.3)
Anti-HCV+	0 (0)
Anti-HEV+	0 (0)