Longitudinal change of HBsAg in HBeAg-negative patients with genotype B or C infection.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Quantitative HBsAg has been recognized to assist in the management of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. However, its role in disease monitoring of HBeAg-negative patients remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the longitudinal HBsAg change in HBeAg-negative carriers with HBV genotype B or C infection. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study conducted in a university hospital. Treatment-naïve HBeAg-negative carriers followed for more than 3 years were recruited. Their hepatitis activities were categorized by longitudinal HBV-DNA levels into high viral-load (HVL: HBV-DNA >/ =2000 IU/mL persistently), low viral-load (LVL: HBV-DNA 1000, 100-999,