Assessment of Liver Functions Parameters of Asymptomatic Apparently Healthy Hepatitis B Virus Carriers among Voluntary Blood Donors in Some Parts of Nigeria

Several studies have been conducted on hepatitis B virus and its manifestations including its effect on organ functions. Hepatitis B virus is a hepatotropic virus which courses inflammations of the liver and other complications such as cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, liver failure and death, this study assessed the effect of hepatitis B virus on liver functions in asymptomatic blood donors in some towns within three (3) geo-political zones in Nigeria. Method: A total of 183 subjects consisting of 137 males and 46 females participated in the North Central geopolitical zone: 176 subjects consisting of 129 males and 47 females participated in the North East, while 173 subjects consisting of 123 males and females participated in the South South Zone. The mean age of the subjects were 34.89 _+ 9.19 years for the three zones respectively. Blood sample were collected from the subjects and tested for Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and also Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) to rule out co-infection using ELISA. All samples were analysed for liver function parameter such as Total bilirubin, conjugated bilirubin, total protein, Albumin, Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST), Alannie Aminotransferase (ALT) and Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP), using Chemwell 2910 fully Automated chemistry analyser. The results were analysed using statistical analysis system (SAS, STAT 15.1), and p values < 0.05 were considered as statistically significant. Results: The mean values of total protein, albumin total bilirubin, conjugated bilirubin aspirant aminotransferase (AST & ALT) and alkaline phosphate (ALP) did not vary significantly (P 005) between the hepatitis B virus negative and hepatitis B virus positive subjects across the geopolitical zones studied. However, the variation of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) was significant (p > 0.014) between the two treatment groups across the three geopolitical zones, but the margin was not wide enough to draw clinical ....