Biochemical and Serological Characteristics of Incidentally Detected Chronic Hepatitis B Infection

Background: Hepatitis B virus infection is still a significant public health problem worldwide. In a considerable number of cases the infection person remains asymptomatic, despite ongoing histological activity. Objective: This retrospective study was done to see biochemical and serological activity of hepatitis B virus in incidentally detected hepatitis B virus infected patients. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Popular Medical Centre, Sylhet, Bangladesh, from January 2016 to December 2017. Available demographic and laboratory data of incidentally detected patients of chronic hepatitis B virus infection were retrieved from record and analysed using SPSS version 20. Mean and SD for continuous data and percentage of categorical data were calculated. Results: Total 276 patients, age ranging from 13 to 60 years (mean 29.38), male 225 (81.5%) were enrolled. Of them 147 (53.3%) were in 26 – 40 years age group. In this series, 157 (56.9%) and 54 (19.6%) had history of saloon shave and family history of liver disease respectively. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) of them varied from 15 to 367 iu/dl (mean 51.54). Of them 37 (13.4%) had HBeAg positive and 17 (6.2%) had fatty liver in ultrasound. HBV DNA was seen in 115 patients with 32 (27.82%) had DNA load above 100,000 copies per ml. Conclusion: We observed a wide range of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels, with a notable proportion of patients tested positive for HBeAg. Ultrasonography revealed fatty liver in a subset of patients. Hepatitis B virus DNA estimation showed a considerable prevalence, with a subset having high viral loads. Fibro-scan demonstrated varying degrees of liver stiffness. These findings underscore the importance of comprehensive assessment and monitoring in patients with incidentally detected chronic hepatitis B infection.