Quantitation Detection of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen and Its Significance in Patients with Hepatic Cirrhosis

Objective: To assess the clinical significance of the quantitation of HBsAg in HBV-associated hepatic cirrhosis. Method: Sixty HBV-associated hepatic cirrhosis patients were included in the study. The patients were divided into the compensated cir- rhosis group (n = 35) and the decompensated cirrhosis group (n = 25) based on the diagnostic criteria of hepatitis determined at the 10th National Conference on Viral Hepatitis (Xi'an, September 2000). 20 asymptomatic healthy hepatitis B carriers were recruited as the con- trol group. The serum titers of HBsAg and HBeAg were determined using electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA), and HBV DNA load was measured using immunofluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay(PCR). Result: HBsAg level in the con- trol group, compensated cirrhosise group and decompensated cirrhosis group were 2574.73 ± 3252.27 COI, 5494.35 ± 2129.84 COI and 6921.25 ± 1957.60 COI, respectively. The differences among the three groups were statistically significant (P0.05). In compensat- ed cirrhosis group, the pearson correlation in HBsAg vs. HBV DNA and HBsAg vs. HBeAg were significantly reverse correlation (P0. 05), with r values of -0.350 and -0.514 respectively. In decompensated cirrhosis group, HBsAg had no significant correlation with HBV DNA or HBeAg, with r values of -0.020 and 0.154 respectively. Conclusion: HBsAg level is significantly higher in decompensated cir- rhosis group than in compensated cirrhosis group, it is also higher in compensated cirrhosise group than in control group. With the pro- gression of liver disease, a rising HBsAg gradient is observed. In compensated cirrhosis group, HBsAg level has a significantly reverse correlation with HBV DNA and HBeAg, hence HBsAg is a indirect index to reflect viral replication. In decompensated cirrhosis, HBsAg has no significant correlation with HBV DNA and HBeAg, suggesting that HBsAg does not reflect the activity of viral replication.