Relationship between HBV DNA level and pathological changes of liver tissue in HBeAg-negative patients with chronic HBV infection

Objective To analyze the relationship between hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA level and pathological changes of liver tissue in HBeAg-negative patients with chronic HBV infection.Methods Eighty-nine HBeAg-negative patients with chronic HBV infection underwent liver biopsy and quantification of hepatitis virus markers, HBV markers, and HBV DNA in serum.The relationship between HBV DNA level and pathological changes of liver tissue was analyzed.One-way analysis of variance was used for comparison between groups;the Spearman rank correlation test was used for correlation analysis.Results Most of the 89 patients had abnormal liver pathology;of all patients, 70 (78.6%) had grade ≥2 liver tissue inflammation, and 66 (74.2%) had stage ≥2 liver fibrosis.There were significant differences in HBV DNA level among patients with different grades of liver tissue inflammation (F=2.678, P<0.05) , and HBV DNA level was positively correlated with the grade of liver tissue inflammation (rs=0.327, P<0.01) .There were significant differences in HBV DNA level among patients with different stages of liver fibrosis (F= 2.625, P<0.05) , and HBV DNA level was positively correlated with the stage of liver fibrosis (rs=0.314, P<0.01) .Conclusion There is a positive correlation between serum HBV DNA level and the degree of pathological damage of liver tissue in HBeAg-negative patients with chronic HBV infection.For the HBeAg-negative patients with chronic HBV infection who have significantly elevated HBV DNA level, liver biopsy should be performed in time for confirmed diagnosis and antiviral therapy.