An Evaluation of Hepatitis B Virus Diagnostic Methods and Responses to Antiretroviral Therapy among HIV-Infected Women in Thailand

Coinfection with HIV and hepatitis B virus (HBV) is common in resource-limited settings but is frequently not diagnosed. The authors retrospectively tested specimens for HBV in HIV-infected Thai women who had participated in an antiretroviral therapy (ART) clinical study. A substantial proportion (27 of 211; 13%) of HIV-infected women were HBV coinfected. Among HIV/HBV-coinfected women, the authors observed similar rates of antiretroviral-associated liver toxicity (despite nevirapine [NVP] use) and CD4 count reconstitution as observed in HIV-monoinfected women. Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) screening detected the majority (81%) of HBV coinfections, including all 5 HBV-coinfected women who did not suppress HBV despite 48 weeks of lamivudine (3TC)-containing ART and could be used to tailor ART for patients diagnosed with HBV coinfection in accordance with World Health Organization guidelines. Although HBsAg screening did not diagnose 5 occult HBV coinfections, these women achieved HBV suppression on 3TC-containing ART, suggesting that not detecting occult HBV coinfection would have limited clinical impact.

Source: Journal of the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care (JIAPAC) - September 24, 2013 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Peters, P. J., McNicholl, J. M., Raengsakulrach, B., Wasinrapee, P., Mueanpai, F., Ratanasuwan, W., Intalapaporn, P., Drobeniuc, J., Ramachandran, S., Thai, H., Xia, G.-L., Kamili, S., Khudyakov, Y., Weidle, P. J., Teo, C. G., McConnell, M. S. Tags: Viral Hepatitis Source Type: research