Occult Hepatitis B Virus Related Decompensated Cirrhosis of Liver in Young Males: First Report of Two Cases from Bangladesh

Cryptogenic cirrhosis is a diagnosis of exclusion. polymerase chain reaction (pcr) has demonstrated persistenthepatitis b virus (hbv) infection in serum and liver tissue of hbsag-negative chronic hepatitis, hbsag-negativecirrhosis, and hbsag-negative hcc patients. the entity of occult hbv infection is well established. we report twopatients with occult hbv related decompensated cirrhosis of liver for the first time from bangladesh. the first patientis a young male with jaundice and hepato-splenomegaly. the second patient is also a young male with ascites. both hadaltered liver function tests. diagnosis of decompensated cirrhosis of liver was established in both cases and in both theetiology was identified by pcr to be occult hbv infection. in areas with high prevalence of hbv, a diagnosis ofcryptogenic cirrhosis based on hbsag testing alone is not adequate. the so called cryptogenic but actually occulthbv cirrhotics are suitable candidates for antiviral treatment. occult hbv infection must be considered in all patientswith cryptogenic cirrhosis of liver in areas where hbv infection is prevalent