Immunsuprese kronik hepatit C’lilerde artmis okkült HBV enfeksiyon bildirimleri mevcuttur. Bu çalismada, immunsuprese olmayan ve antiviral tedavi baslanmamis kronik hepatit C’lilerde hepatit B virüsü ile karsilasma sikligi arastirildi. Gereç ve yöntem: Hepatit C virüs antikoru ve hepatit C virüs RNA pozitifligi ile kronik hepatit C tani si almis 22 olgu (9 kadin/13 erkek, yas ortalamasi: 52±9.7 yil) bu çali smaya alindi. Tüm olgularda hepatit profili mikropartikül enzim immun assay, hepatit B virüs DNA’si ve hepatit C virüs RNA’si ise real-time polymerase chain reaksiyonu yöntemiyle bakildi. Bulgular: Hepatit C virüsüne bagli kronik hepatitlilerin %68.2’sinin anti-HBc antikor pozitifligi ile hepatit B virüs enfeksiyonu ile karsilastigi, %31.8’inin ise hepatit B virüsü ile karsilasmamis oldugu saptandi. Hepatit C virüsüne bagli kronik hepatitli 22 olgudan sadece 2 olguda (%9.1) hepatit B yüzey antijenin pozitif oldugu ve buna göre hepatit B virüs ile karsilasmis olan 15 olgunun 3’ünde (%20) hepatit B virüs DNA’sinin pozitifligi ile birlikte hepatit B virüsünün kaliciligi belirlendi. Sonuç: Bizim sonuçlarimiza göre, kronik C hepatitlilerde hepatit B virüsü ile karsilasma sik ve enfeksiyon kaliciligi genel populasyondan daha yüksektir. Hastaligin ciddiyeti ve prognozuna katkisi olabileceginden, özellikle de hepatit B açisindan endemik bölgelerde sensitif yöntemler ile okkült hepatit B virüs enfeksiyonu arastirilmalidir.
We aimed to investigate the rate of hepatitis B virus exposure in subjects with chronic hepatitis C infection who were immunocompetent and not treated with antiviral agent. Materials and methods: Twenty-two patients with chronic hepatitis C (9 female, 13 male, mean age: 52±9.7) were enrolled into this study. Hepatitis B profile was investigated by EIA and hepatitis C virus RNA and hepatitis B virus DNA by real time PCR. Results: AntiHBc antibody positivity, which suggested exposure to hepatitis B virus, was 68.2% in chronic hepatitis C patients. Four patients (18.2%) in the study group were seronegative and 3 patients (13.6%) were vaccinated against hepatitis B virus infection. Only 2 (9.1%) of 22 patients were HBsAg positive, and taking into account hepatitis B virus DNA positivity, 3 patients (20%) had replicative hepatitis B virus infection of 15 patients who were exposed to hepatitis B virus. Conclusions: According to our results, the rate of hepatitis B virus exposure and permanency of hepatitis B virus infection are higher in chronic hepatitis C patients than in the general population. Especially in regions endemic for hepatitis B virus, the occult hepatitis B virus infection, which can increase the severity or deteriorate the prognosis of the disease, should be investigated by sensitive PCR technique in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection.