Abstract
Thirty-nine blood donors, found on routine testing to be Australia antigen (HB Ag) or antibody (HB Ab) positive, were studied for evidence of hepatic disease. Seven had severe and 5 had minor biochemical abnormalities; 8 of these 12 subjects had HB Ag and 4 HB Ab; 4 had raised serum cholesterol but no other biochemical abnormalities; 23 subjects had normal biochemistry. Of 11 subjects who underwent hepatic biopsy, 3 were found to have evidence of chronic persistent hepatitis. Two of these 3 had HB Ag and 1 had HB Ab. Minor histological abnormalities were found in a further 5 subjects. Five subjects with normal biochemistry were biopsied, and 1 of these was found to have chronic persistent hepatitis. The results suggest that subjects with persistently positive tests for HB Ag or HB Ab may have chronic hepatic disease. Close followup of blood donors and other subjects found to have positive tests is thus indicated. Normal biochemical findings do not exclude abnormal hepatic histology.
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