Hepatitis B surface antigen deposition in the blood vessel walls of urticarial lesions in acute hepatitis B

Urticaria is known to occur in the pre-icteric phase of acute viral hepatitis. Often such urticaria is a symptom of a serum sickness-like syndrome which can be a prodrome of viral hepatis. Immune complexes are thought to be pathogenetic in this condition. In this paper we present two patients with a serum sickness-like syndrome, urticaria and hepatitis B. By immunofluorescence techniques Hepatitis B surface antigen, CIq and C3 could be demonstrated in the blood vessels of the superficial dermis. These findings are consistent with the immune complex hypothesis.