Evaluation of C-reactive protein titer in patients with acute hepatitis B virus infection

Shiaa Al-Azawi, Nazar

	Evaluation of C-reactive protein titer in patients with acute hepatitis B virus infection
IRAQI JOURNALOF COMMUNITY MEDICINE
Article 1, Volume 21, Issue 3, 2008, Pages 241-245
Author
Nazar Shiaa Al-Azawi
Abstract
Objective: to evaluate the serum C-reactive protein (CRP) titer as a predictive diagnosis of acute hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Materials and methods: One hundred and five patients with acute HBV infection and 117 apparently healthy individuals as a control group were enrolled in this study. The patients include 37(35.2%) females and 68 (64.8%) males with mean age (27±16.5) years. The control group includes 57 (48.7%) females and 60 (51.3%) males with mean age (26±5.8) years. Blood samples were collected, sera were separated and stored at -20 0C. The diagnosis of acute HBV infection was based on detection of HBS Ag and anti-HBc IgM and standard liver function tests. Determination of CRP titer was assessed by semi-quantitative tube agglutination test. All data were statistically analyzed. Results: Based on 95% percentile, the baseline CRP titer in healthy individuals was 1:8 (16 mg/l) and for patients 1:512 (1024 mg/l). There was a statistically significant increase in the mean CRP titer in patients with acute HBV infection compared to healthy individuals (P< 0.001). The validy of CRP titer 1:64 as a cut-off value to predict HBV infection provide a sensitivity and specificity 100% and 96% respectively. The positive and negative predictive values were 95% and 100% respectively with an accuracy of 98%. Furthermore, there was a significant correlation between CRP titer and liver function test values. Conclusion: In conjunction with clinical suspicions, CRP titer may be of value for predictive diagnosis of acute hepatitis B infection. Key words: C-reactive protein, Hepatitis B virus.
Keywords
reactive protein; Hepatitis B virus

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