Can Viral Load Predict Liver Histology in Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B?

Introduction: hepatitis b virus (hbv) infection is a global public health problem. serum hbv dna measurement is a non-invasive test that predicts the liver disease progression. the aim of this study was to determine the hbv dna level and look for a relation between the hbv dna level and liver histology.methods: this was a cross sectional study on chronic hepatitis b infected patients in tehran hepatitis center from 2006 to 2010. percutaneus liver biopsy was performed in all patients. patients with a history of any treatment and co-infection of hcv, hdv and hiv were excluded.results: 301 patients were included in this study. the mean age was 34.63±13.25 years. mean serum hbv dna level was 1.35* 108 ± 10.5*109 copies/ml. mean inflammatory score (grade) was 5.54±3.26 and fibrosis (stage) was 1.93±1.56. there wasn’t any significant relation between age and sex with liver histology. no significant relation was seen between liver histology and the hbv dna level. hbe ag positive patients had a higher serum hbv dna level.conclusion: there wasn’t any significant relation between liver histology and the hbv dna level. we suggest using liver biopsy as a golden standard. in addition we need more studies in this field.