Persistence of serum hepatitis B virus deoxyribonucleic acid in hepatitis B surface antigen-positive patients with chronic persistent hepatitis treated with prednisone.

The effect of a short course of prednisone therapy was evaluated in 8 patients with liver biopsy-verified chronic persistent hepatitis B. In 6 of the 8 (75%) patients, an abrupt fall in serum alanine aminotransferase levels after the initiation of prednisone was noted, and in 4 patients, there was an increase in serum alanine aminotransferase values after prednisone was discontinued. However, the serum levels of hepatitis B virus deoxyribonucleic acid were consistently greater than or equal to 200 pg before, during, and after the course of treatment in 7 of the 8 (87.5%) patients. All patients were initially hepatitis B e antigen-positive and remained so during the study period. These findings indicate that, unlike some patients with chronic active hepatitis B, immunosuppression with prednisone had no effect in altering hepatitis B viral replication in patients with chronic persistent hepatitis.