Bowden Scott
Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory, North Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Semin Liver Dis. 2006 May;26(2):97-103. doi: 10.1055/s-2006-939756.
The development of serological assays to detect hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) has played a major role in the diagnosis of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. With other hepatitis B serological assays, a diagnosis of acute or chronic HBV infection, past infection, or successful vaccination can be determined. However, serological profiles can at times be atypical or ambiguous. Some of these difficulties may be overcome by HBV DNA testing, which may elucidate an individual's true hepatitis B status. In addition, quantification of HBV DNA provides a means of monitoring the effectiveness of antiviral therapy and detecting the early development of antiviral drug resistance. Molecular diagnostics are also being applied to HBV-infected liver tissue. The use of molecular techniques to quantify intrahepatic HBV DNA and other key HBV replicative intermediates may provide additional options for monitoring and predicting treatment efficacy, but such assays require further validation before they can be used routinely.
用于检测乙型肝炎表面抗原（HBsAg）的血清学检测方法的发展在乙型肝炎病毒（HBV）感染的诊断中发挥了重要作用。结合其他乙型肝炎血清学检测，可以确定急性或慢性HBV感染、既往感染或疫苗接种成功与否。然而，血清学特征有时可能是非典型的或不明确的。HBV DNA检测可能会克服其中一些困难，它可以阐明个体的真实乙肝状况。此外，HBV DNA定量提供了一种监测抗病毒治疗效果和检测抗病毒药物耐药性早期发展的手段。分子诊断技术也正在应用于HBV感染的肝组织。使用分子技术定量肝内HBV DNA和其他关键的HBV复制中间体可能为监测和预测治疗效果提供更多选择，但此类检测在常规使用之前需要进一步验证。
