Persistence of e antigen as prognostic marker in acute hepatitis B.

Serial determinations of HBeAg and anti-HBe were made in sera of 155 selected patients with acute hepatitis B who were followed up for one to four years. In the early phase of hepatitis, HBeAg was present in 43 cases (27.7%) and anti-HBe in 12 cases (7.7%). Evaluation of the outcome of hepatitis showed that development of chronic hepatitis occurred in 11 out of 43 HBeAg positive patients, in 10 out of 100 HBeAg negative patients (P = less than 0.05) and in 2 out of 12 patients carrying anti-HBe. Nine out of 11 HBeAg positive chronic subjects showed persistent HBe antigenemia over two months, while the remaining 32 patients, who recovered completely, lost HBeAg within two to three weeks from the onset of the disease. These data suggest that the prognostic value of HBeAg in acute hepatitis patients may be taken into account when HBeAg persists in the serum and that anti-HBe does not invariably protect from the development of chronic hepatitis.