CORRELATION OF HEPATITIS-B SURFACE-ANTIGEN CLEARANCE WITH THE ROUTE OF HEPATITIS-B VIRUS-INFECTION

We studied 563 consecutive adults with acute hepatitis B hospitalized from May 1981 to May 1983 and their habitual heterosexual partners. Radio‐immunoassays for the detection of serological markers of hepatitis A virus (HAV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) and enzyme‐immunoassay for the detection of IgM antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (IgM anti‐HBc) were used. Of the 563 patients, 503 (89.7%) were hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positive and 60 (10.7%) were HBsAg negative on admission. Absence of HBsAg on admission was observed significantly more frequently in patients infected possibly by the heterosexual route than in the remaining patients (23.3% versus 6.6%; P < 0.001). This finding was independent of sex. These data show that the route of HBV infection rather than the sex appears to have a more important role in the rapid clearance of HBsAg. Copyright © 1990, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved