Detection of hepatitis b surface antigen in patients with acute viral hepatitis.

The relative value of solid phase radioimmunoassay and counter immunoelectrophoresis for the detection of hepatitis B surface antigen in the serum, was studied in 1401 patients with acute viral hepatitis. When specimens were obtained early in the illness, counter immunoelectrophoresis was found to be a reliable test for the diagnosis of hepatitis B, detecting 95.6% of patients found to be antigen positive by radioimmunoassay. The additional sensitivity of radioimmunoassay was of particular value for detecting antigen later in the illness and in patients with post-transfusion hepatitis in which the titre was frequently below the level detectable by counter immunoelectrophoresis. Radioimmunoassay was also of value in testing sera which had been stored for many years, detecting up to 3-3 times as many patients with hepatitis B as did counter immunoelectrophoresis.